


Moonlight

by bgidget



Category: Penny Dreadful (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-16
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 18:56:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3947977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgidget/pseuds/bgidget
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Argent family, an aristocratic family based in France with a history in America, come to London chasing news of vampire nests that have sprouted up. They align with Sir Malcolm Murray and his associates in search of his daughter Mina.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meeting

The air was so unnervingly still and cold. In spite of being in a warm, wool coat Sir Malcolm Murray felt the hairs on the back stand up. Perhaps it wasn’t only the cold that stirred up such a response in him. He supposed anticipation had something to do with it, too. With every place he, Vanessa, and Sembene visited he became more and more on edge. Surely his daughter Mina had to be kept in one of these nests. He would find her eventually by sheer determination. He knew it.

It was so quiet. Each of them could hear the sound of their own breath or the pounding of their hearts. The vampires seemed to have a knack for staying below the radar. They were gifted with the ability to take almost anyone by surprise. It was how they often gained the upper hand in fights. Unfortunately for them, they were no match against a bullet to the head. That was where Ethan Chandler came in.

Sir Malcolm had employed hired guns before, but Vanessa had assured him that none of them were quite like Mr. Chandler. He had his doubts about the newcomer. Ethan was more than apprehensive about this situation. He was a little scared, but he would never admit to it. He would have called it being careful.

For as keenly aware of their surroundings as they were, none of the group could have seen it coming. A pallid looking young woman with hair as white as snow and eyes as red as blood practically leaping at the small cluster of mortals. Her nails were long and sharp and the fangs she flashed at them menacingly were even sharper. Before she could hurt any of them, though, she was stopped in her tracks by a bolt shot directly into her eye socket. The vampire collapsed to the ground, leaving everyone a little surprised. They’d thought they were the only ones doing the hunting. They had been very wrong about that. 

A young woman who couldn’t have been over the age of eighteen stepped forward first. Behind her was an older man, her father, with impossibly blue eyes and just behind him was a woman with honey blonde hair pulled into a very messy bun. The older two of the trio were toting guns very similar to the one Ethan held. The young girl was carrying a crossbow - The weapon responsible for the vampire’s demise.

“We thought that we would be the only ones here.” The man gestured around them. “We caught news of vampire nests in London. I’m Christopher Argent. This is my sister, Kate,” He nodded over his shoulder to the older of the two women. “And this is my daughter Allison.” 

The dark haired young girl gave a small smile as a greeting. She lowered her crossbow cautiously, giving the dark corners of their surroundings a once over to make sure no other vampires were lurking and waiting for a chance to take the lot of them out.

Sir Malcolm gave but a nod to the curious looking trio before crouching close to the ground. He tilted the vampire’s head towards him, examining her features before standing once more. Judging by his expression alone, he looked dissatisfied. He rose to his feet once more.

“Odd meeting others like this, isn’t it?” Sir Malcolm spoke with a sad sort of smile on his face. This was another dead end. Would he ever find his daughter? “I’m Sir Malcolm Murray and these are my companions Vanessa Ives, Sembene, and...” He paused for a moment. Though he didn’t look perplexed or like his was in deep thought, he took a second searching for their hired gun’s name. He was certain Vanessa had told him. “Ethan Chandler.” 

Kate already seemed to have taken an interest in the scruffy looking American. She looked Ethan over none too subtly and flashed a flirtatious smile at him before looking back to Sir Malcolm. “Pleased to meet you. All of you.”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this meeting short.” Christopher sighed, holstering his gun. “We have to report back to my wife at our home.” Sir Malcolm thought that odd. It sounded almost as if Christopher was merely a soldier. His wife seemed to be the leader. It made him wonder for a moment why the woman wasn’t here with the other two young women.

“Very well. Thank you for handling her.” Sir Malcolm nodded down to the ground where the crumpled vampire corpse lay. Christopher simply nodded and turned to escort his sister and daughter back to their home. Allison, though, stood with her eyes fixed on Vanessa. There was a definite look of curiosity and fascination on her face as if she already knew that this woman was something unique, something special. Her father nudged her, though, and she blinked, looking away from the mysterious woman. She hadn’t spoken a word, but somehow Allison knew there was more to her than met the eye. 

With that, the mysterious trio turned and began to walk back towards the main street. While she wasn’t psychic, Allison’s intuition told her that this was merely the beginning of a very fascinating story.


	2. A New Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison Argent gets to know Vanessa Ives a little better.

Vanessa wrote down words at a furious pace. Somehow she managed to avoid scribbling. Her writing was more than just neat. It was elegant, even. She was writing a letter to Mina, Sir Malcolm’s daughter and Vanessa’s dearest friend. Vanessa had written one letter for each day Mina was missing. It helped her focus on their cause. It made her more resolute and convinced that they would eventually find and save her. She quickly wrote down the post-script and folded the letter, tucking it away in a box filled to the brim with letters. 

Making her way out of her room and down the winding stairs, Vanessa stopped in her tracks upon hearing the faint sound of knuckles rapping on the front door. The sound, she believed, was feminine. The sound of a delicate hand that had not been taught to create obnoxiously loud noises. She couldn’t help but wonder who was coming to call. 

Before Sembene had a chance to answer the door for her, Vanessa opened the door and found herself face to face with the dark-haired young girl who had killed the vampire the night before with a single shot. She smiled a small smile. 

“Allison, is it?” Vanessa took a step to the side, nodding for Allison to enter the home. “Come inside.”

Allison returned the smile. It was odd to see her without her crossbow. The night before it had seemed almost like an extra limb to the girl. A part of her and vital to her existence. Today Allison was dressed in an uncharacteristically prim way. A dark blue dress covered her from her neck to her toes, but it didn’t look stuffy. Somehow she made it look elegant with the way she held herself. Her nearly black hair was arranged in an updo of sorts and, unlike the night before, Allison looked like she belonged in Victorian England along with the rest of them.

“Thank you,” She smiled again at her hostess. “I just came by because...” The younger girl trailed off, wrinkling her eyebrows. “I’m sorry, I can’t even think of a proper excuse. The truth is, Miss Ives, I was just curious about you and your associates. I thought getting to know you might sate my curiosity.” Her cheeks flushed just slightly at her admission. It amused Vanessa to see her blush. Here was a girl who had presented herself as a warrior, a huntress, and now she was blushing.

“You do know what they say about curiosity.” Vanessa cautioned jokingly, leading Allison into the parlor. Allison laughed a little and nodded.

“I do. Sometimes you can’t resist it, though, can you?” She shook her head, her smile broadening. 

Vanessa took a seat at a table and since there were no seats close enough to it to sit at Allison remained standing, looking on with keen interest showing in her eyes. Vanessa spread out a deck of cards into a semicircle on the table. The purpose of the cards was unknown to Allison. She couldn’t help but interrupt Vanessa’s ritual.

“What are the cards for?” Her eyes were focused on the cards instead of on the mysterious woman arranging them on the table. Vanessa looked up with a small smile.

“Pick one.” She instructed. Allison immediately reached out to grab one, but Vanessa stopped her with her hand. “Not like that. You must give some consideration to the card you draw. Follow your instincts.” Allison nodded and looked the spread of cards over for a few seconds. Finally, she reached out and picked one up. Vanessa took it from her and flipped it over, showing an image of a scorpion crawling on someone’s lips. It gave Allison the creeps, but the caption only confused her. Below the image were the words _The Lovers_. 

“What does it mean?” Allison furrowed her eyebrows, eyes still fixed on the card.

“It’s one of the more straightforward cards in the deck. It can signify a relationship, but it also signifies one finding out where one stands with his or her values.” Vanessa explained. Allison nodded, taking it all in. Was she at a point where she was questioning her morals? So much had happened in the recent months it seemed only appropriate to have an identity crisis.

Allison took a seat in one of the chairs in the parlor and Vanessa rose from her seat behind the table to sit closer to the other girl.

“That actually sounds like an appropriate assessment.” She let out a small laugh with very little humor behind it.

“The cards usually have some truth to them. I’m afraid it’s now my turn to be curious about you, Miss Argent. What brings you to London?” Vanessa found herself leaning in just slightly, watching Allison closely.

“My family searches out creatures like the one we killed last night. It’s been going on in the Argent line for as long as anyone can remember. It was an Argent that killed the Beast of Gévaudan in France.” Though Allison’s openness on the topic caught Vanessa by surprise, Vanessa didn’t look shocked in the slightest. She’d seen her fair share of inexplicable things and occurances. One more wouldn’t faze her in the slightest. 

“We heard about the nests of vampires in London. It was my grandfather’s idea to seek them out, but he has a weak heart and couldn’t come with us.” Allison was secretly glad that her grandfather couldn’t make the voyage. Gerard Argent was a cold man determined to turn Allison into an equally cold young woman. He confused cruelty with strength. Allison was only beginning to learn the difference between the two.

“You’re from France?” Vanessa raised her eyebrows slightly. Allison shook her head.

“Not exactly. I was born in France, but as you can probably tell from my accent I’ve spent most of my life in America.” She had many fond memories of America and just as many bittersweet ones. The things she had done, the people she had left behind...

“How did you hear about these creatures clear on the other side of the world?” Vanessa asked, curious about the Argent family and their connections.

“People like us are all over the world. We share stories, so news travels fast. We’d heard that they were building up their numbers and there actually aren’t very many of us in England.” Allison explained. It felt strange to be talking so frankly with someone who was not family, but then again Vanessa had witnessed the vampire threat up close and personal. Allison wasn’t really revealing any secrets that Vanessa hadn’t figured out on her own.

“Why were you there last night?” Allison asked, leaning forward slightly herself as if Vanessa was about to whisper the reply to the question.

“Sir Malcolm and I have been looking for his daughter, my friend, for a while, now. She was taken by one such creature.” Vanessa paused for a moment, deciding to share a secret of her own. “I’ve seen her in visions. She’s _terrified._ ” It was clear that this bothered her a great deal and Allison defied the rules of etiquette by reaching over to cover Vanessa’s hand with her own. She only meant to provide some comfort. Vanessa offered her a weak smile in response.

Allison wanted to ask if they believed that her friend could still be saved. The Argents mostly hunted violent werewolves, but she knew enough about vampires from her grandfather’s bestiary. They were tribal in nature and created fledglings to become stronger. She wondered if Vanessa’s friend wasn’t already a creature of the night, something that needed to be put down, not rescued.

“So you have the sight.” It was more of a statement and not a question. Allison didn’t seem surprised, but she _was_ impressed. There were individuals who were hypersensitive to all around them, including things that most people didn’t acknowledge as being real. Such individuals were rare. Allison had heard stories about people with the sight being locked away in asylums because they could see and hear things that no one else could. It made her happy to see Vanessa have this gift and also be able to roam freely.

“I suppose I do.” Vanessa smiled easily, sinking back slightly into her chair as she found herself more comfortable with Allison than she’d originally thought she would be. There was a lull in the conversation and Vanessa seized the moment. “Would you like a cup of tea? Jasmine, imported from China.”

Allison smiled and nodded. “I would like that.” 

Sembene, who Allison hadn’t realized was in the room with them, nodded at Vanessa and vanished to the kitchen to boil a pot of water. This meeting was going exceptionally well and left Allison feeling that she finally had an ally who wasn’t a blood relative. She knew Vanessa would come in very handy with her particular skill set.


	3. An Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate Argent tracks Ethan Chandler down to hand deliver an invitation.

To Kate, the inn was unimpressive. Of course, most places would have left her uninspired. With all of the traveling she and her family did she had seen some pretty posh and wonderful places. Even the bigger picture, London, didn’t strike her as anything special. What _had_ impressed her, though, was Sir Malcolm’s handsome, American associate. Kate had a weakness for attractive men. She had a bad tendency to leave them heartbroken and alone, but it was always spectacular while it lasted.

She had tracked Ethan carefully like she would have if he was something she was hunting. It was always the thrill of the hunt that made her feel the most alive. After years of hunting werewolves and other creatures with her father and brother, Kate was one of the best in the business. It was no surprise to her that she’d found her prey so easily.

Kate took a seat next to Ethan at the bar. He had to do a doubletake before he figured out who she was. The whiskey had dulled his state of mind slightly, but once he got a good look at her face he remembered her from a few nights prior.

“Miss Argent,” He gave a polite smile and took another drink. Kate flashed a devilish smile at him.

“It’s Kate. Forget the formalities. You’re making me feel like I’m somebody’s grandmother.” She chuckled quietly and flagged down the bartender, slipping him some money. “Whiskey, please.”

“My apologies, Kate. What brings you out here?” Ethan couldn’t help but notice how out of place Kate looked. She was much better dressed than most of the other patrons. Her clothes suggested that she was a lady, proper and poised, while her behavior suggested she was something entirely different. She gave off an air of being dangerous. It gave her a certain allure, but Ethan liked to think he knew better than to fall for someone like that.

“Exploration.” She smiled, taking a glass of whiskey from the bartender. “I’m getting to know London up close and personal. All of the nooks and crannies where things like to hide. It’s kind of necessary for people in our line of work.” Ethan raised his eyebrows at that last line.

“ _Our_ line of work?” He asked. He hadn’t known that he was involved in any kind of business. It had been one night with that group. Ethan still didn’t know if he would stick with them. The money was good, but it left him feeling more than a little uneasy. Kate’s niece had taken a life without so much as blinking. He wondered how similar Kate was to Allison.

“Hunting.” Kate clarified. “It’s our family business. Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent.” The words rolled off of her tongue in a perfect French accent.

“I don’t speak French.” Ethan admitted with an awkward little smile. 

“We hunt those who hunt us.” Kate translated, smiling right back at him. “It’s the Argent family code.” She said it as if it was the most important thing in the world, but she couldn’t even count the number of times she’d gone against it. Her philosophy was that it was better to kill a beast before it even had the chance to hurt you.

“And that thing last night, it was hunting you?” He challenged, taking another drink.

“It was hunting _someone_. Those things live off of human blood, Ethan. They’re like leeches, only worse because leeches don’t try to turn you into one of them.” Kate downed the rest of her whiskey. She seemed a little irritated, but maintained her smile. It took a lot to make her completely lose her cool. 

Ethan looked at her, almost disbelievingly. “Just how much do you know about these things?”

“Enough.” She replied with a shrug of her shoulders. “My family has been keeping a bestiary, a book of all the things we’ve ever come across in our line of work, for _ages._ We know about these things and much more. Education is the best way to defend yourself. That and a gun.” 

“So you know how to use that thing?” He asked, meaning her gun. Ethan was not so naive to believe that Kate was a poor shot just because she was a woman, but he thought he’d ask anyway. Female sharpshooters were a rarity in any society.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Kate laughed. “You’d better believe it.” She nodded to his holstered weapon. “We should do some target practice sometime so I can show you just how well I _can_ use my gun.” 

Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle at her abundance of confidence. She wasn’t one of those timid Victorian women who spent more time on a fainting couch than she did on her feet. It was a little refreshing.

“Anyway, I didn’t come here to chat.” Kate smirked, pulling a square, sealed envelope from her coat pocket. She handed it over to Ethan and he took it, looking at it curiously before opening in. The paper inside was an invitation, the details of the event written down in flawless calligraphy. He looked up from the paper back to Kate, an amused look on his face.

“You came to invite me to a party.” It was like he couldn’t really believe it.

“Not just any party. The first party my family is throwing at our new London home. It’ll be a big event and I want to see how you clean up.” Her smile took on a flirtatious quality like it had the first night she’d seen him.

“Somehow I don’t think I’d fit in.” He confessed with a small smile. Truthfully, Ethan wasn’t the partygoing type. It was a group situation and he was most comfortable being on his own or conversing with another person one on one. A room full of people made him feel slightly vulnerable. Kate did seem bent on having him as a guest, though. 

“I know you’re not working for peanuts. Sir Malcolm doesn’t seem like the cheap type. Get yourself a decent suit, wash your face, and _come to my party._ ” Kate raised her eyebrows looking at him like she was daring him to go against her suggestion. His smile faded slightly and he took another drink.

“It takes more than a decent suit to fit in at one of these shindigs.” He sighed quietly.

“You’ll be by my side. That alone will make you fit in.” She challenged, folding her arms across her chest. “Think about it. It’ll be worth the extra effort.” Kate winked so quickly that anyone in the room could have blinked and missed it, but Ethan noticed.

Without saying anything more, Kate got to her feet. She patted Ethan on his shoulder, that devilish smirk playing on her face, and she made her exit. Ethan was looking at the door long after she’d walked out of it.


	4. The Party pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison is given the duty of greeting guests as her family's party begins. She meets someone who immediately captures her interest.

As the sun set behind grey clouds, guests had started to arrive at the Argents’ spacious home. Like a good hostess, Allison lingered in the foyer, greeting everyone that passed through her front door. It was more tiring than she’d expected to put on a fake smile and be exceedingly polite to every new face. She didn’t really want any new friends or acquaintances. She craved the company of her friends in America. Those friends, though, could never earn the approval of her elders. Christopher could talk about their reasons for coming to London until he was blue in the face and Allison knew he’d never mention the biggest reason for all of it. He wanted to move Allison away from Scott McCall. The two youngsters had developed a romance only to find that Scott was a werewolf and Allison one of a long line of werewolf _hunters._ She was still bitter about her father moving her, but every time she started to feel too bad about it she refocused her thoughts on the vampire nests in her new home. 

Allison was snapped out of her haze when Sir Malcolm Murray walked in the door alongside the beautiful Vanessa Ives. A smile crossed her face and she quickly walked over to the two of them.

“Good evening! Welcome to our little soiree!” There was a marked difference between how Allison had greeted those who had come before Vanessa and Sir Malcolm and the way she’d greeted those two. The two of them actually interested Allison, but especially Vanessa.

“Thank you for graciously inviting us to your home, Miss Argent.” Even for an older man, Sir Malcolm had a smile that probably would have melted the heart of a woman slightly more mature than Allison. Still, she beamed and radiated happiness at his and Vanessa’s arrival. It looked like the night might finally be picking up its pace.

“Why don’t the two of you follow me to the ballroom?” It was where they were serving canapés and champagne. More than that, though, leading the two of them into another room would give Allison a break from meeting people at the door. She truly believed she’d been saddled with the dullest of party duties just because her parents were still angry with her over things that had happened in America.

Just as Allison turned, the skirt of her silver dress twirling from her movement, a hand clamped down on her shoulder. The hand was attached to a long, slender arm belonging to the striking Victoria Argent, Allison’s mother.

“Allison, darling, there are people filing in that door who haven’t been properly greeted.” Victoria smiled, more of a social reflex than an actual expression of happiness. She was a beautiful woman in a severe sense of the word. Victoria was a few inches taller than her daughter and had bright red hair piled into an updo on her head. In spite of the differences, both Victoria and Allison shared the same fair skin tone. If you looked closely enough you might have been able to tell that they were mother and daughter.

Allison deflated slightly with a sigh. “You’re right. I’ll, um... I’ll go stand by the door again.” She wanted to be near Vanessa. Allison had a feeling she would make the night a little more interesting. Victoria was already leading the two of them away from Allison, though, and she looked over her shoulder to give a nod in direction of the front door, signaling her daughter to get back to her post.

A low grumble escaped Allison’s lips. This felt like something below her. There were staff that could have been greeting people at the door leaving Allison with enough freedom to talk to people that she actually deemed interesting. 

It seemed pointless to be lurking by the door when only a few fashionably late guests would be arriving. Allison’s eyes were fixed on the very uncomfortable shoes that matched the silver material of her gown, both articles of clothing that her mother had picked out for her. If Allison had her way she would have been wearing a comfortable pair of slacks. In this household, however, Allison rarely got to do things _her_ way.

“You look dreadfully bored.” Allison snapped her head up to look from her shoes to the source of the voice. There was a young man standing at the door, one of the house staff assisting him in removing his coat. A tiny smirk formed on Allison’s face.

“Has anyone ever told you that you read people exceptionally well?” She looked him over. He was one of the best dressed men at the party and seemed to have an abundance of rings on his fingers. There was something about him that drew Allison in. He was charismatic even just with the few words he’d shared with her.

“It’s a skill.” He smiled at her. “I’m Dorian Gray.” Allison gave a nod of her head. She didn’t recognize the name, but she hadn’t been in charge of sending out invitations, so it was no big surprise to her.

“Allison Argent,” She responded, reciprocating the smile. “If you go into that room,” Allison pointed across the foyer to the ballroom doors. “They’re serving champagne and canapés.” 

“Surely there’s something more interesting than conversation and sipping champagne here.” Allison’s smile broadened slightly. She looked around the foyer cautiously and when she saw that her mother was no longer lurking and keeping a close eye on her, Allison turned back to Dorian.

“I could give you a tour of the house.” It seemed like a perfect suggestion to Allison. She desperately wanted to get away from everyone. Dorian seemed considerably more interesting to her than the other party guests or even her _family._ Even though he didn’t seem as excited as her about exploring the Argent household, he nodded.

“Very well. Lead the way.” His lack of enthusiasm worried Allison a little bit. She was nervous that she wouldn’t be able to hold his attention. Still, when he smiled at her she could feel her worries melt away. Allison nodded and turned, leading him away from the ballroom and down a long hallway.

“We haven’t put everything on display just yet, but we’ve got a big collection of weapons.” Allison nodded to an antique crossbow in a glass case and then to a glass case of the opposite side of the hallway that contained an old mace. “It’s just something we do.” She shrugged her shoulders, deciding that now was not a good time to drop the _my-family-hunts-monsters_ bomb on her new guest. That was the purpose of their weapons cache, after all. You never knew what a creature’s vulnerabilities would be, so it was wise to keep a little bit of everything handy.

“Do you know how to use it?” Allison turned to face Dorian and saw him gesturing at the antique crossbow.

“I’ve never used that one before, but I have a crossbow of my own.” She literally bit her tongue, immediately regretting sharing that she was useful with a crossbow. Allison scoured her mind for an excuse that wouldn’t make her sound like an inappropriately violent young woman. Dorian just smiled, his interest piqued.

“Really? And how is your aim?” A chuckle escaped Allison’s lips and she shrugged.

“I could say that I don’t know, but the truth is that my aim is almost always perfect.” She felt a slight flush in her cheeks. She was blushing a little bit. Thankfully, the lighting was so poor in the hallway that there was no way he could have seen her cheeks turn a shade rosier.

“I’m curious... What exactly are you aiming at?” The question was innocent enough, but Allison felt her smile fade slightly.

“Game, mostly. There’s not much use for a crossbow in a city like London, but my old home was surrounded by forest.” It was a half truth. With all of the nests popping up, a crossbow was extremely useful in London.

“Allison the huntress.” Dorian mused, that devilish halfsmile on his face. Allison laughed quietly, briefly glancing down to her feet. He had no idea how accurate the statement was.

“Come on. I’ll show you my favorite room.” Her face lit up with a smile thinking about it. She began to walk further down the hallway, looking over her shoulder to make sure he was following her. They rounded a corner and Allison turned the knob to a glass door. She walked inside and took in a deep breath. It was a solarium turned into a greenhouse, vibrant shades of green and violet everywhere. Dorian stepped in next to her.

“Aconitum...” He murmured the Latin name to himself. “Do you only grow wolf’s bane?” He leaned forward, touching one of the delicate purple flowers.

Allison nodded. “It’s my aunt’s favorite flower.” That wasn’t actually a lie, but it wasn’t their reason for growing wolf’s bane in large quantities, either. Even if they were here to simply destroy the vampire threat, they would always have the flowers on hand. Werewolves, after all, were in every corner of the world. London was no exception to that rule.

“You have such a lovely greenhouse. You should visit the public greenhouse sometime. The flora there is lovely.” Dorian straightened, taking a step closer to Allison. She liked being close to him. It made her feel strangely alive. She wondered if he had that effect on everyone he met.

“I’ll go sometime when I’m free.” She smiled a little.

“Perhaps we’ll run into one another.” He returned the smile and stood there, looking at Allison and taking in the vibes he was getting from her. After a second or two of silence, Dorian gave a nod and turned to exit the greenhouse. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Allison once more. “I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time for champagne and conversation. Would you care to come with me?”

“Absolutely.” Allison cracked a smile and followed him out of the greenhouse. She wasn’t all that excited to be rejoining the party, but the night had started out on a good note. Maybe the party wouldn’t be so disappointing. 

As she walked beside Dorian down the long hallway she looked straight ahead. That was until she felt his hand with all of his ringed fingers brush against hers. It was a touch she’d been craving that almost made her gasp, but she tried to conceal her reaction. Dorian merely smiled, knowing full well what kind of effect he had on Allison. This party wasn’t so boring after all.


	5. The Party pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan arrives at the Argents' grand party and Kate is there to greet him.

Kate stood in the doorway of the ballroom, eyes on the front door. It wasn’t looking like Ethan would show at the party. She scolded herself for feeling disappointed. Kate never liked to have her happiness depend on other people, most of all _men._ Still, she hadn’t gone through the trouble of wearing a stunning red number just to spend the evening with her family.

“Looking for someone?” Kate turned her head to see her sister-in-law Victoria asking the question. Kate simply smiled a little.

“You caught me. Yeah, I may have passed an invitation on to one of Sir Malcolm’s associates. I should have known he wouldn’t make it. He’d be like a fish out of water here.” She sighed unhappily. “Other than him being missing, the turnout seems pretty good.”

Victoria nodded, surveying the party and looking quite pleased. “We invited many of the families in London who have good social standing. I wanted us to be here as we were in France, before we all relocated to America.” 

Kate smirked a little. “Stuffy and stuck up?” Victoria smirked at that. Kate didn’t mean it as an insult and they both knew it. It was simply that the younger Argent preferred America to their original roots.

“Well respected. Sometimes to earn the respect of the upper crust you have to be a little stuffy and stuck up, though I prefer to think of it as being _proper_ and _proud_ of oneself.” Victoria’s eyes scanned the crowd in the ballroom before glancing to the front door to make sure Allison was still greeting guests as instructed.

“Do you think any of the upper crust know what’s going on in the dark alleyways at night?” Kate asked. She often wondered how people who had no knowledge of the supernatural explained things like bloodless corpses.

“It’s better to not discuss these things at parties, Kate.” Victoria cautioned, though there was still a small smile on her face. “I’m going to join Chris in the ballroom. Don’t wait for your gentleman out here for _too_ long.” She turned and walked into the huge ballroom, grabbing a flute of champagne on her way in from a tray.

Kate sighed and looked back to the front door casually. She could have kicked herself for waiting so long. When the door opened she found herself peering over the heads of the small crowd in the foyer only to be disappointed again. It wasn’t Ethan. It was a younger looking man with straight brown hair who seemed to have an amusing interest in Kate’s niece. She found herself smiling as Allison stepped away from the front door, leading the nameless young man down a hallway.

“Good for you, Allison.” Kate murmured to herself, glancing towards the ballroom to make sure the gutsy move her niece had just made went unnoticed by the Argent matriarch. When she finally looked back to the front door she caught sight of a man removing his overcoat and handing it to one of the Argents’ house staff. It took her a moment to realize that the dapper looking man in question was actually Ethan, looking better groomed than Kate had ever seen. She smiled and walked over, looking almost like a lioness stalking prey with her confident strides.

“You decided to come.” She stated, looking at him. “I was about to call it a night. I’ve heard of fashionably late, but it’s almost like you _wanted_ to keep me waiting.” It wasn’t really scolding. It was all said in a playful tone of voice. Ethan couldn’t help but smile at her.

“It took me a while finding your house. I don’t know the streets here all that well.” It was an honest explanation and Kate seemed to accept it as such. Her posture relaxed a little .

“Well, you made it in time for canapés.” Kate nodded her head in the direction of the ballroom.

“Cana-what?” He looked confused for a moment and Kate had to laugh a little.

“I’m not laughing at you, I promise. They’re like little snacks. The ones we’re serving are these tiny, doughy things with cheese inside. We have champagne, too, even though I know you prefer your whiskey over it.” Without asking permission, Kate took Ethan by his hand and led him to the ballroom. Victoria caught sight of the two of them and smiled at Kate in approval.

“This is a pretty big event.” Ethan commented, looking all around at the well-dressed individuals who had accepted the Argents’ invitation. He couldn’t help but wonder why the Argents were bothering with a party of this scale when they seemed so bent on taking care of the nests. 

“It’s nothing compared to some other ones we’ve hosted.” Kate let go of Ethan’s hand to grab two flutes of champagne from a waiter’s tray. She handed one over to him and sipped at the one she kept. “Most of those were back in Paris, though. Since then we’ve all but faded from the Parisian social scene. You can’t maintain a good reputation when you move as often as we do.” She sighed as if moving was the most tiresome thing she could imagine. This lifestyle suited her, though. Kate had never been one to put down roots. Out of the entire family, she was the one who had the easiest time moving from place to place like some kind of nomad. While she liked America the most out of the countries they’d lived in, she was also very eager to escape it. She’d seen how Allison had fallen for a _werewolf_ , of all things, and had wanted to put an end to the relationship even more than Christopher had. Though she never said it outright, Kate wanted Allison to turn out like she had. All business. Well, _almost_ all business.

“Where all have you been?” Ethan took a drink of his champagne. The bubbles were a little strange, but it wasn’t so bad. He missed the burning sensation whiskey gave him, but champagne was nothing to sneeze at.

“All around Paris, the eastern parts of America, and now London.” Kate shrugged. “We go where we’re needed. Right now we’re needed pretty desperately in London. You know how it goes.” 

Ethan _didn’t_ know and he felt like correcting her. While she had been doing this her whole life, Ethan had just started. It was foreign to him. Ordinarily the only things he ever shot at were glass bottles and tin cans. He’d never killed one of the pale creatures that they all seemed to be hunting down, though he was sure that he probably would if he spent enough time with Sir Malcolm Murray and Vanessa Ives.

“And you hope to keep London safe by throwing parties?” He smirked a little at Kate. She rolled her eyes in response, thinking it was just as ridiculous as Ethan was making it sound.

“My brother’s idea. Well, it’s mostly my sister-in-law’s idea, to be honest. She runs everything nowadays. That’s how we do things in this family. The men are trained to be soldiers and the women are raised to be leaders.” Ethan raised his eyebrows at that and Kate nodded. “In a society like the one we live in it sounds crazy to have the women orchestrating everything, but if you think about it it’s a pretty smart move. There’d be a lot more done on impulse if the Argent men ran the show.” There was plenty that Kate had done on impulse, too, behind her family’s backs, but she never spoke about that. She was good at keeping her own dirty little secrets.

“I imagine things run more smoothly that way.” Ethan smiled a little. Kate impressed him as a leader. She was bold and unafraid to do things her way. She was a very interesting woman. Kate opened her mouth to say something on the subject, but at that moment Victoria breezed over to the two of them with that familiar, social half-smile on her face.

“Good evening,” She smiled at the two of them. “Kate, is this the gentleman you invited to join us tonight?” Kate didn’t like Victoria interrupting her conversation, but she smiled anyway. She knew better than to be bristly with her family. Fighting within the ranks was never a good idea. They all functioned so much better when they were getting along well.

“As a matter of fact, it is. Victoria Argent, this is Ethan Chandler.” Kate smiled a tight lipped smile that Ethan almost laughed at. It was clearly fake, but not so fake that Victoria took an obvious disliking to. Ethan bowed his head slightly and smiled at the red-haired woman.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you, ma’am.” Where Kate was all barely concealed spunk, Ethan minded his manners perfectly. This impressed Victoria. Maybe he would be useful to them in their efforts to rid London of vampires.

“It’s a pleasure meeting _you,_ Mister Chandler. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to make my rounds.” Victoria smiled at the two of them before turning and walking up to another small group of people. Everyone seemed to be having a lovely time. Ethan wondered if any of them knew what the Argents did at night while most of them were safe in their own homes.

“Can I have your attention?” Christopher Argent spoke up from the front of the room. Without saying another word, the buzzing white noise of conversation died down and everyone paid immediate attention to the man in front of them. “As your host for the evening, I would like to thank each of you for coming to our home and welcoming us into your lovely city. Please enjoy yourselves and have a delightful time!” Chris smiled and held up his flute of champagne for a mass toast. Everyone else in the room did the same, even Ethan following suit. Kate raised her eyebrows at Ethan as she sipped her champagne. Truthfully, she was just glad he came. He seemed like someone she’d enjoy knowing better. 

It was then that movement from the other side of the room caught Kate’s eye. Allison was cautiously re-entering the ballroom, that mysterious young man by her side. It amused Kate. Maybe her niece would be able to find some happiness for herself that didn’t involve some mongrel beast. She looked back to Ethan and smiled. Maybe both Argent girls would be finding some kind of happiness in London.


	6. The Greenhouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison runs into Vanessa at the greenhouse and finds that she has more in common with Dorian than either of them had originally thought.

It turned out that Dorian’s suggestion to visit the greenhouse had been a good one. Allison marveled at all of the different types of flora being grown there. The weather in London at this time of year was verging on icy. It surprised Allison that there hadn’t been an intense frost just yet. Inside the greenhouse, though, things were balmier. The air was thick with moisture. It was beautiful. 

Fittingly enough, Allison spotted someone equally beautiful strolling by herself. She couldn’t mistake those striking features for anyone else. It was Vanessa and Allison felt herself grinning upon seeing the other woman. Of course, the moment she felt the expression forming on her face she made a conscious effort to hide it. It was a little embarrassing how she acted in the Vanessa’s presence. Even then, when Vanessa had no clue Allison was even looking at her, Allison felt her cheeks warm up a little as they turned a shade rosier.

It felt silly to watch her from a distance when she could be enjoying her presence in a more up close and personal way, so Allison made her way across the greenhouse via a path lined with ferns that looked as if they belonged in a jungle.

“Miss Ives!” She greeted her cheerfully. It seemed that her enthusiasm was contagious as Vanessa was soon smiling back at Allison.

“Miss Argent. How nice to run into you here.” Vanessa gave a pleasant smile as she greeted the younger woman. Allison nodded in agreement.

“I heard from someone at my parents’ party the other night that this was the place to visit. It definitely outdoes the greenhouse we keep.” Allison glanced all around them. This greenhouse was considerably bigger and more diverse than the one she and Kate kept at the Argents’ home. It left Allison feeling slightly awestruck. It was a suitable place to find Vanessa in.

“There are some beautiful things here.” Vanessa smiled, reaching out to touch a magenta blossom lightly with her fingertips. Allison watched every move the other woman made intently. It seemed that Vanessa even _breathed_ in a graceful manner. 

“There really are.” Allison agreed, making a point to look around at all of the plants that lined the pathways. She had to try not to fix her stare on Vanessa. The striking, raven-haired woman captured her attention more than any of the plants growing in the greenhouse. She had done so since the first night Allison saw her. It stirred a feeling inside of her that she was completely unfamiliar with. Even Scott McCall who had left her breathless and in love had never caused her to feel this way.

Allison stopped herself. It occurred to her that the longer she spoke to Vanessa, the more likely it was that she would give her feelings away somehow and she would embarrass herself. On some level she wanted to keep talking to her, but she didn’t want Vanessa to think that she was some silly little girl with silly notions in her head. She cleared her throat quietly.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you. Good day, Miss Ives.” Allison smiled shyly and, without waiting for Vanessa to also say goodbye, she went on her way down the path. She swallowed the awkward lump in her throat and closed her eyes for a moment, pausing as soon as she figured she was far enough away from the other woman.

It didn’t seem right. Allison asked herself what made Vanessa so special, but a million reasons flooded her mind. She had so many reasons to feel this way and they all overwhelmed her. There was a question of how long she could hide it. Allison had a lot of faith in her ability to lie, but she’d never felt this strongly before. She hadn’t been able to hide her feelings for Scott, so it was only a question of when someone would catch on to how she felt about Vanessa. She was doomed.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Allison’s eyes snapped open upon hearing the familiar voice. She stammered slightly, afraid she’d have to explain herself, but then she saw that Dorian was talking about a beautiful, bright red blossom. She couldn’t help but smile a little in relief.

“Truly beautiful.” She answered, reaching out to touch the blossom just to feel the softness of its petals. It was good to focus on something else and Allison felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Her gaze shifted to Dorian. He was beautiful, too, in a way, and Allison suspected that he was very aware of his own good looks. 

“I felt almost like a fly on the wall.” He confessed with a smile. Allison looked at him, slightly confused as to what he was talking about. Upon seeing her expression, Dorian decided to explain himself. “I saw your exchange with Miss Ives. It seems you and I have more in common than I’d originally thought.” 

Allison felt the color drain from her face. He knew. She didn’t know _how_ he knew. She’d thought that she’d hid it so well. If he knew, then there was a possibility that the extremely perceptive and intuitive Vanessa knew as well. There was a definite feeling of uneasiness in the pit of Allison’s stomach.

“And what do we have in common?” A small, awkward smile formed on Allison’s face. Dorian chuckled a little at her. It was amusing to him the way she responded.

“A mutual fascination with Vanessa Ives. Don’t worry. She doesn’t strike me as the type to be bothered by admiration from a girl like yourself.” Allison laughed nervously, feeling as if she wanted to crawl into a hole and stay out of sight for the rest of her life. She knew that emotions were rarely something to be ashamed of and she didn’t really think that she was ashamed, per se, but the fact that Dorian had her so clearly figured out made her nervous.

“It’s that obvious?” She looked to Dorian for an answer, her big, brown eyes looking a little sad. He smiled at her, reaching out and taking one of her hands in his.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Allison. You’re a strong young woman. You shouldn’t be brought to your knees by infatuation. It doesn’t suit you.” This made her smile. A real smile, too, and not one that she put on her face to hide how painfully embarrassed she felt. It almost made her forget that they were touching. The moment she remembered she politely withdrew her hand from his grasp, smiling at him so he wouldn’t think that she’d rejected his affection in some way.

“I think that’s exactly what I needed to hear. So...” She looked in his eyes for a second or two before her gaze found the red flower again. Without looking at him, she murmured to Dorian. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” He paused. Though she’d looked away, his eyes were still fixed on her. While she didn’t have the air of mystery that Vanessa did, Allison was interesting to him nonetheless. When Allison finally looked back to him she found that their gazes were locked. That slightly shy smile returned to her face. “Would you like to walk with me? Enjoy the greenhouse together?”

Allison gave it only a moment’s thought before nodding silently. The two of them began to walk side by side, not saying anything for the longest time. After a minute or two of silently appreciating the variety of plant life, Allison stopped in her tracks and reached out with her hand to stop Dorian as well.

“I don’t mean to intrude, but your fascination...” She trailed off, not sure how to ask what she needed to know. “Is it romantic in nature?” This brought an amused smile to Dorian’s face. It was amazing to him how _young_ Allison truly was. He wasn’t sure he’d go as far as to call her naive, but she definitely had an innocence about her. It was hard to imagine her as a crossbow-wielding huntress in moments such as this one. 

“I’m not all that sure.” He confessed. “It does run very deep, though. I have many reasons to be fascinated by her as I imagine you do, too.” Allison nodded, suddenly understanding what he meant. Her feelings for Vanessa were hard to describe. She wouldn’t have said it was romantic at first, but after thinking about it she supposed that they were all encompassing. Romantic, physical, and spiritual, even. It was a profound sort of feeling, but it made Allison feel slightly less overwhelmed knowing that she wasn’t alone in feeling that way. She smiled appreciatively at Dorian, but found herself looking beyond him, eventually, and she caught sight of the sun’s position in the sky.

“I’ve been here too long.” She sighed, wishing she could stay longer, but her father would be expecting her at home. They were to discuss the next nest they would be taking care of. Allison looked at Dorian apologetically. “I’m sorry, but I have to be on my way. I hope to see you again soon, Mister Gray.” She smiled and he returned the expression.

“As do I, Miss Argent.” He gave a nod of his head and turned, making his way further along the path. Allison looked after him for a while after he’d put distance between the two of them. It was nice to have found a kindred spirit, of sorts.


	7. A Dark Alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison ventures out to the suspected location of a vampire nest on her own. She's not the only one who decided to check the area out.

For the first time in a while, London felt like home. The Argents gathered round a table with a map of London spread across its surface. Paperweights marked the known locations of vampire nests throughout the area. All in all, the Argents knew more about the nests than Sir Malcolm and his group. After all, the Argents had been hunting creatures for decades. The others had only started to hunt. 

“It doesn’t make sense.” Allison remarked, arms folded across her chest and eyes fixed on one particular spot of the map.

“What doesn’t make sense about it?” Christopher asked his daughter, curious to get her input on the subject.

“It’s a marketplace. People are milling about that area all during the day. How would they stay hidden?” Allison drummed her fingers on the table anxiously for a second before Victoria reached out with her own hand to stop her daughter’s nervous habit. Allison sighed in response and pulled her hand away from the table.

“We suspect they’re in the sewers underneath.” Kate explained with a tiny smile on her face. It was good that Allison was asking questions. It showed an interest in her line of work. Kate liked seeing that in Allison.

“We should go tonight before Sir Malcolm gets there and stirs things up. Get our bearings, figure everything out so we can plan more effectively.” Allison said with a sharp nod of her head. Victoria shook her head in response.

“I don’t think so. We’re not going charging in there on our own. Tomorrow morning we’ll contact Sir Malcolm. The more of us there are the better chance we have to take all of the vampires out.” Victoria was the leader and that was her plan. What she said was law. Except that Allison didn’t think it was a very good plan.

“He’s looking for his daughter. That’s his objective. He’s not in this to kill all of them like we are. He’ll only get in the way.” Allison argued, shooting her mother a look that screamed defiantly against her plan.

“Allison,” Christopher raised his voice slightly. “Listen to your mother. There’s strength in numbers.”

“We’re going in blind! At least let’s go tonight and get some idea of what the layout of things is like.” Now she was pleading more than arguing. Allison didn’t want something to go wrong. Her family irritated her at times, but she didn’t want any of them to die because of some foolish mistake. 

“Kid, listen to your parents.” Kate insisted in a gentler voice than Chris’ or Victoria’s. She thought what Allison was saying had its merits, but she didn’t want to break up the family over the fine details of their plan. Allison responded with an emphatic roll of her eyes.

“Right. We contact Sir Malcolm tomorrow morning.” She sighed defeatedly, stepping away from the table. “I’m going to bed early. I want to be awake when we raid the place.” Her mother smiled just a little bit, glad that her daughter was starting to see things her way. Allison turned and walked into the foyer, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her. She made her way up the winding staircase and walked into her room. Now it was just a matter of waiting until everyone was asleep.

Allison had never realized how slowly time moved. She sat up in her room watching the sun set from her western facing window. Her parents would probably be in bed sometime around 9:30. She would wait until 10:00 just to be safe. Allison sat at her vanity, braiding her hair so that it wouldn’t be in her face when she ventured out. She slipped a knife into the side of her boot. She always kept one there when she was planning for a fight. Her preferred weapon was always her crossbow, but everyone needed something as a backup plan. To go out without one was foolish and Allison was anything but. At least she thought so.

Slowly, she opened her bedroom door and peered out. The house was silent except for the steady ticking of the grandfather clock that stood in the hall. Allison stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her, careful not to make any noise. She held her crossbow in one hand. The staff had gone to bed by now, so it was just her quietly creeping down the stairs and sneaking out the front door.

Even the streets outside were eerily quiet. Allison walked like she had a purpose, and she did. She needed to get to the marketplace as quickly as she could so that she could make it back home in time to avoid being noticed. For a moment, Allison thought that she might have heard another set of footsteps. She slowed her pace to a stop and stood there, listening, but it was gone. She picked up her pace once more and continued on the way to the market.

It was strange to see the marketplace when all of the vendors were at home, asleep. She should have been asleep, too, and in spite of her courage she was starting to think that coming out this way had been a foolish mistake. She was lost in her own thoughts for a moment or two before she heard what sounded like a scurrying, but at the same time it sounded like something much bigger than a rat. Allison whipped herself around to face the direction it had come from. Slowly, she walked towards it. There was a sudden crunching noise and Allison’s gaze fell to the ground. She’d stepped on what appeared to be a nutshell. Allison scolded herself for not being as quiet as possible.

There was that scurrying again, though this time it sounded like it was even closer. Allison held her breath as she rounded a corner into an alleyway. Nothing. At least nothing that she could see. Her breathing evened out once more as she took another couple of steps down the alleyway.

Suddenly, something lunged at her. It was human in shape, but let out a rather inhuman growl. Allison’s crossbow was knocked to the side in the scuffle. She used every bit of training she’d had to defend herself. Using the heel of her hand, she thrust up and heard the cracking of bone as she broke the thing’s nose. It let out a pained cry and stumbled back slightly, giving Allison just enough time to pick up her crossbow and fire a bolt at her attacker. Unfortunately, the bolt hit the thing in the shoulder, missing its heart. It reeled back from the blow and Allison hurried to reload her crossbow.

Those footsteps again... Allison became very aware that she wasn’t alone. The footsteps had picked up their pace as if whoever it was had been running towards the alleyway, not away from it. It was a distraction. Something Allison did not need at that particular moment. She couldn’t see the figure’s face as it leaned in to see what was happening in the alleyway, but she responded anyway.

“Get out of here!” She commanded the stranger fiercely. It was enough to get the vampire to glance toward the stranger instead of at Allison. It charged down the alleyway to the other person, away from the fight it had been having with Allison. The vampire moved with impossible speed, but it wasn’t fast enough to dodge the bolt Allison fired into its back and through its heart. Defeated, it collapsed on the ground. 

Allison took a moment or two to catch her breath. She was lucky there had been only one. She’d liked to think that she was there to form a plan for the next night, but she’d approached what she’d set out to do tonight without much of a plan at all. Allison slicked a few flyaway hairs away from her forehead and turned her attention to the stranger who, in spite of Allison’s instructions, had not gotten out of there. 

“What are you doing?” She hissed at the stranger, narrowing the space between them. “You could have been killed!” She took another step closer and saw the light from the light post hit the delicate, but handsome features of his face. Allison nearly gasped when she realized that it was Dorian. This revelation angered her more than she could explain. With her free hand, she gave him a shove.

“ _Why_ did you _follow me?_ ” She gritted her teeth together, only getting madder when she saw him smile. 

“I suppose I was just curious why a young lady such as yourself would be leaving your home unaccompanied at this hour.” He was being honest, but it still didn’t satisfy Allison.

“You were outside my home? Why?” She narrowed her eyes and looked at him curiously. Dorian only shrugged as a response.

“You certainly have your secrets, don’t you? I had a feeling you were more than some timid girl with a crush. And you really weren’t lying about your aim.” He smiled and looked down at the dead vampire who laid between the two of them.

“Timid?” The word offended Allison. She’d never thought of herself as being timid, though she supposed that from the display she’d put on at the greenhouse with Vanessa that a stranger could have seen her as a timid girl. “I’m not timid.” 

“So I see. Is this what you do at night? Stalk the streets of London looking for half-human monsters to slay?” He looked much more amused than Allison was.

“Dorian,” It was the first time she’d referred to him by his first name, but she didn’t even realize it. It was late and she was tired and just wanted to go home so that she could lie in her bed and come back tomorrow night considerably better prepared. “That half-human monster was about to kill you and you would have been at fault. Don’t you get scared?”

He laughed and shook his head. “I don’t get scared of much anymore.” Allison found it hard to believe, but didn’t challenge him. “Don’t you? Get scared, I mean.”

Allison was without an answer for a second or two. “I guess I don’t get scared much, either.” She sighed. “It’s late. We should both be getting--” _Home_ , she’d wanted to say, but Dorian stepped closer to her, stepping over the vampire corpse.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a woman like you before.” He smiled a little, leaning in and kissing her. Allison’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she didn’t pull away. It wasn’t how a kiss was supposed to be. Allison thought that the circumstances were all wrong and she didn’t even have feelings for Dorian. ...Did she? She remembered that night at the party when her hand had brushed his, leaving a curious but not unpleasant sort of tingling. She remembered being a little breathless when she saw his handsome face, but she didn’t have _feelings_ for him. Still, after the initial surprise passed, Allison found herself kissing back. She nearly let her crossbow clatter to the ground so that she could pull him closer to her, but as soon as she realized that she was still holding the weapon Allison took a step back from him bringing the kiss to an end.

“You might be willing to wander the streets all night, but I have plans for tomorrow.” Allison looked at him with her eyes narrowed once more. Dorian chuckled at her response. Allison kicked the corpse away. Someone would find it in the morning and probably not even realize that it was anything but a human being with the bad luck to have been shot at twice. No one would trace it back to her. Save for Dorian and Sir Malcolm’s crew nobody in the city had ever seen her act violently. She turned away from Dorian and began to walk back in the direction of her home.

“Do you think those plans could include lunch with me?” Allison stopped in her tracks, turning back to look at him incredulously.

“After everything you’ve just seen you want to talk about having _lunch?_ ” She raised her eyebrows as she stared at him. Dorian shrugged nonchalantly.

“Why not?” He grinned. She was so much more interesting to him now that he’d seen her in a different light. Allison rolled her eyes, but the gesture was accompanied by a smile.

“Fine. Lunch. Right now, though? I think we should both head to our respective homes and get some rest.” Dorian nodded at her suggestion and Allison let out a sigh, relieved that he wasn’t going to argue getting some shut-eye.

“I’ll pick you up at noon tomorrow.” He smiled at her. “Goodnight, Allison.” His informality caught her by surprise. She’d expected a _Miss Argent_ from him, but reminded herself that she was the first one to resort to using first names. She smiled back at him.

“Goodnight. Try not to get killed on your way home.” She heard him chuckle as she turned her back to him and made her way back home.

Going out against her parents wishes had proved worthwhile. She now knew the layout of the marketplace pretty well. She knew the little spaces here and there where things could hide from plain sight. This made her certain that they would be able to take out the whole nest tomorrow night. More than that, she had a lunch date with a very intriguing man.


	8. Lunch Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate helps her niece dress stunningly to impress Dorian Gray. Allison is swept off of her feet.

“Rise and shine, little lady!” Kate swept into Allison’s bedroom, opening her drapes to let sun into the room. Allison let out a quiet groan and slowly sat up in bed, stretching her arms above her head as she yawned. 

“What time is it?” Allison asked, looking half-asleep. Her drowsy looking eyes made Kate wonder if she’d been up at night with nightmares or something. It was certainly possible given the things Allison and all of the other Argents had seen in their line of work.

“Ten o’ clock on the dot.” Kate smiled at her niece, folding her arms in front of her.

“What??” Allison quickly hopped out of bed and got to her feet, nearly stumbling and falling over a pair of slippers. “We were supposed to be meeting early with Sir Malcolm!” 

“Already done.” Kate sighed. “After last night your mother thought it would be best if she and your father met with Sir Malcolm on their own. Something about worrying that you’d question his motives.”

“I _don’t_ question his motives. I know exactly what they are. He means to find his daughter and when that’s said and done he means to cure her, somehow.” Allison’s eyes narrowed into slits. She couldn’t believe her parents would exclude her from family business. Suddenly, any guilt she had for sneaking out last night was gone. She was too angry to be guilty.

“Exactly. We’re in business with him with the understanding that we’ll kill every vampire but Mina. We just prefer to not talk about the part where we’re holding back from putting a monster down. It’s the point our two groups clash on.” Allison rolled her eyes at her aunt’s words. She didn’t like politics. Kate didn’t, either, which was why Christopher and Victoria had gone to meet with Sir Malcolm on their own.

“Anyway,” Kate sighed and took a seat on the edge of Allison’s unmade bed. “I was thinking you and I could go for a walk. See the sights.” 

Allison smiled at first. It would have been nice to hit the town with her more sophisticated aunt, but suddenly she put her hand over her eyes and groaned.

“I can’t. I have plans.” She frowned a little at her aunt, though truthfully she didn’t mind missing out on a day with her aunt as it meant spending the early afternoon with Dorian. She would get a little bit of leisure time before coming home to prepare for their hunt. Hopefully this time Dorian wouldn’t be in the way. Though it had only happened once, he certainly seemed to have a knack for nearly spoiling things. 

Kate’s eyebrows shot up curiously. “You have plans? Since when?” For a split second, Allison panicked. Her plans for lunch today had been cemented last night sometime around midnight.

“Since yesterday,” It was only stretching the truth, right? “I was invited to lunch by a very nice gentleman.” Allison smiled. Kate grinned broadly.

“I didn’t know you were interested in anyone! Do elaborate!” Kate leaned in a little closer as if Allison was about to share a secret.

“Well,” She paused, taking a seat on the mattress next to Kate. “His name is Dorian Gray. He was at the party we hosted.” 

Kate held up her hand, stopping Allison from saying anything further. “Wait, dark hair, dark eyes, killer smile?” She knew exactly who Allison was talking about. Allison responded with a nod and a smile. “Oh, Allison, that’s great. I saw you two, you know. Sneaking away from the boring masses to have a moment in private.” Kate chuckled a little. “Your mother would have died if she knew you weren’t by the front door all night long. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

Allison knew that Kate would have been happy to hear that she’d found someone. Kate had been pushing her niece to find a nice young, _human_ man. While each of Allison’s family had been disappointed and angry to find her bonding and falling in love with the very thing they were all meant to hunt. She knew that they would each want to test Dorian’s humanity, but she didn’t know how or when they would do it. It could have been as simple as laying down a line of mountain ash that werewolves couldn’t cross. Allison, though, was sure that at some point they would all want to make certain that she wasn’t making the mistake of falling for another werewolf.

She made no mention of Vanessa. Her heart told her that Vanessa was the one she should have been focusing her attention on, but Allison didn’t listen. She had figured that chasing after Vanessa was foolish and would end badly, almost certainly in heartbreak. Dorian seemed like a surer thing. They’d already shared a kiss and he seemed to have taken an interest in her as of last night. Who knew that all you needed to do to get an admirer was to save his or her life from a vampire?

“Are you meeting Dorian for lunch somewhere?” Kate smiled. Truthfully, she’d been waiting for this since Allison was a baby. Their closeness in age made them more like sisters than an aunt and her niece. While Kate was no girly girl, she did enjoy getting dressed up to impress others. It gave her a sense of power, in a way. She enjoyed having influence over others’ emotions. Now she’d be vicariously enjoying that same feeling through Allison.

“He said that he would meet me here at noon. He’s taking me to a restaurant, I think.” The two of them hadn’t really discussed their plans in vivid detail the night before. Dorian had slipped the invitation in so sneakily that Allison had almost missed out on it. 

“We’d better start getting you ready, then. You’ll look stunning for your beau.” Kate grabbed a brush from Allison’s vanity and ran it through Allison’s thick hair, tugging at a few tangles as gently as she could manage.

“Do you think the dark blue dress would be good for an occasion like this?” Allison asked as her aunt focused on brushing her hair. Kate let out a scoff.

“The dark blue dress would be good for an occasion like _church_ , Allison. I happen to know you have a perfect red number in your wardrobe. Wear that one.” Kate smiled, running the brush through her niece’s hair one more time before setting the brush back onto Allison’s vanity.

“The red one?” Allison wrinkled her nose. She stood and made her way to her closet, pulling out the deep red dress Kate was talking about. “Its neckline is a little low...” She observed uneasily.

“Not low enough for you to look scandalous, though.” Kate added with a smile. “You’ll look beautiful, Allison. I mean, why do you even have a dress that gorgeous if you’re never going to be brave enough to wear it?” She raised her eyebrows slightly.

Allison gave a defeated shrug of her shoulders and smiled. “Fine. I just think it’s weird to be wearing that to _lunch._ ”

“Gotta wear it sometime.” Kate countered with a playful grin. “And I have an idea for your hair.” Allison looked at Kate skeptically. “Hear me out! You pin it away from your face and leave the rest down. I feel like doing what we do neither of us get to wear our hair down anymore.” Allison shrugged. Kate did have a point. Every time either of them set foot somewhere outside of the house they always had their hair in a bun just in case a fight would break out. Allison had taken to wearing braids at times, but her hair was never loose. It would make for an interesting change.

“I can handle dressing myself, Aunt Kate.” Allison smiled, ushering her aunt out of her bedroom door.

“I don’t doubt it. Just try and hurry, now you have a little under an hour and I _know_ how you like to take your time.” Kate smiled. Allison nodded at her advice and closed the door behind her. 

She reached behind herself to unbutton her nightgown and with a little shake of her shoulders the garment slid to the ground. Allison took a seat at her vanity and reached for a small bottle of perfume. It was mostly rose absolute, a gift given to her by her old flame Scott. He knew how much she loved the smell of roses and that she wasn’t the type to purchase perfume on her own. She thought of him every time she wore it. Allison took the stopper off of the bottle and trailed it along her décolletage. Today seemed like a good day for perfume.

As Kate had suggested, Allison pinned the shorter hairs along her hairline back, leaving waves of dark brown hair behind her. She slipped into the red dress, still a little uncertain of how appropriate it was to dress in such a way for a lunch date. Once she was done, she gave herself a look in the full length mirror to the side of her bed and smiled. Allison wasn’t a vain girl, but she could acknowledge that she looked good. 

She slipped her feet into a pair of slightly heeled shoes that matched her dress and she made her way down the long, winding staircase to the foyer downstairs. Kate poked her head from around a corner and clapped approvingly.

“You look _beautiful._ You will absolutely knock him dead.” She laughed and Allison couldn’t help but laugh along with her. At that moment, Christopher walked into the foyer to see what the fuss was about. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of his daughter.

“You’re dressed very nicely today.” He smiled a little bit, even if he was unsure on whether or not he liked his daughter flaunting herself the way she was. “What’s the occasion?”

“Allison is going to lunch with a very nice gentleman by the name of Dorian Gray.” Kate grinned, secretly enjoying how uncomfortable her brother looked. “The red dress was my idea.”

“Was it?” Christopher raised his eyebrows. Of course it was his sister’s idea. He knew that, had it been up to her, Allison would have dressed in a more appropriate way. “Well, I hope your afternoon goes well. I’d like to meet this gentleman sometime.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind stopping in to say hello to you and mother.” Allison smiled a little, though she could feel waves of disapproval coming off of her father.

“Your mother is still with Sir Malcolm discussing what will happen tonight. Your date will have to be satisfied with just meeting me, for the time being.”

Allison felt a little uneasy about that. While her mother was often the intense one in matters of business, when it came to Allison’s personal life Victoria was often the one to reign in Christopher’s protective instincts. On his own, Christopher could be embarrassing.

They all looked sharply to the front door at the sound of a knocking. Allison did a last minute smoothing of the fabric of her dress and Christopher beat their butler to answer the front door. He opened it and was greeted by a pleasantly smiling Dorian Gray.

“Good afternoon. Mister Argent, I presume?” While Dorian had been to the party, he hadn’t been able to meet the hosts. This was Christopher’s first time speaking to the man.

“Mister Gray,” Christopher smiled as pleasantly as he could manage. He was always so critical of the company Allison chose. “Please, come inside.” He held the door open and as Dorian walked in he caught his first glimpse of Allison. She was a vision in red, even more beautiful than the night he’d met her. Shamelessly, he let his eyes linger on her for a second or two. Without saying anything, Dorian stepped inside.

“You look lovely, Miss Argent.” He smiled at Allison, careful to refer to her in a formal way. Allison smiled, nodding her head.

“And you, too, Mister Gray.” But Dorian always looked polished and well put together. To see him looking handsome was no surprise to anyone, least of all Allison who’d nearly been rendered speechless the first time she’d seen him.

“I wish that we could stay and talk all afternoon, but I’m afraid I made early reservations at a new restaurant.” He smiled in what was meant to be an apologetic way to Christopher and held out his arm to Allison. She stepped over to him, linking her arm in his, and gave her father one last smile. The well-dressed couple was out the door and on their way in no time flat.

Allison let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Dorian chuckled a little as she did so. “I take it you weren’t expecting that meeting to go very well?” Allison laughed and shook her head.

“Ever since something happened in America my parents haven’t been too trusting of the people I choose to spend my time with.” She shook her head. It was an understatement. Scott, the werewolf she’d been involved with, nearly died from a wolfsbane bullet because he’d gotten too close to Allison. She hoped for a different outcome with Dorian.

“What happened?” He asked her casually. Allison sighed.

“You remember the thing I killed last night?” Dorian nodded in response. “I was involved with something sort of similar to it. Well, no, that’s not fair. Werewolves aren’t always awful like vampires are. My family isn’t very accepting of them, though.” It was an understatement. Her family actively hunted werewolves down.

“I’m still having trouble accepting that such things exist.” Dorian confessed with a small smile. “They sound like the creatures from those penny dreadfuls so many people read.” Allison cracked a smile. They really did sound like something from a cheesy piece of horror literature.

“Trust me, they exist. They’re actually the reason I’m here.” After saving his life, Allison figured that she could trust Dorian with the truth. “There are a lot more where that one from last night came from. Our aim is to get rid of all of them. Make London a safer place for human beings to live out their lives.” Allison smiled with a hint of pride showing in her expression. She believed that what her family was doing was absolutely the right thing. While she’d had doubts about werewolves there was absolutely no doubt regarding vampires.

“I certainly feel safer with a brave huntress like yourself on my arm.” Dorian cracked a smile and Allison chuckled quietly. It never occurred to her that he was only ever truly interested in her _after_ learning of her true nature. If she’d thought of that she probably would have questioned his affections a bit more.

“Here we are.” He stopped walking in front of a very clean and lovely building. Allison stopped and admired it. The white paint stood out from the dirty-looking buildings that framed it. After a moment’s pause, Dorian led Allison inside. 

“Gray, party of two.” He told the host at the front of the restaurant. The host quickly looked over a leather bound booklet, finding Dorian’s name right away. With a smile, he grabbed two menus and led the handsome couple to a table in the center of the dining room. It was arguably the best seat in the house.

Dorian slid a chair out for Allison and she took her seat, smiling appreciatively at her date. They had hardly spoken to each other and he’d already made a good impression on her. Allison’s arm stretched slightly to allow her to place her hand on top of his. He smiled at the slightly bold gesture. She wondered how many women he’d taken to fancy restaurants, but soon pushed that thought out of her mind. All that mattered for the moment was that they were there, together. She was certain that the rest of the date would go just as well.


	9. Just a Scratch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Argents and Sir Malcolm's group go on a hunt at a large nest of vampires living in the sewers of London.

There was quite a difference between Allison at noon earlier that day and Allison right then. While her hair had been down before, now it was in a tight bun. It was one way she always prepared for battle. It was something she’d learned from Kate, whose hair was styled in a similar way. The three Argents were all ready for a fight, Christopher and Kate carrying their guns and Allison toting her crossbow. As ready as they were, Sir Malcolm’s group had arrived at the sewer beneath the marketplace before them. They were the only human beings in the immediate area. They were currently looking for the other things that resided in the area.

Allison managed to find herself at Vanessa’s side as the others paired off to look for any vampires, slumbering or otherwise. She smiled up a little bit at the older woman. There was still a sensation of butterflies in her stomach whenever the two of them made eye contact. Allison was convinced that the feeling was definitely not mutual. How could it be? Vanessa was strong and poised. These were things that Allison also was on occasion, but when she was next to Vanessa she felt anything but. She felt like a lesser being and it wasn’t a great feeling. 

“Roses,” Vanessa remarked in a quiet tone. Allison looked up to find the other woman smiling at her. “You’re wearing perfume.” With that, Allison smiled. She had been wearing the same perfume at lunchtime with Dorian and somehow he hadn’t noticed, or if he had noticed he hadn’t remarked on it. Vanessa, though, seemed to be considerably more intuitive and observant than most individuals. It shouldn’t have surprised Allison that she would have noticed.

“I am.” The corners of Allison’s mouth tugged into a small smile. “I went out today. It seemed like a good idea. Do you think the vampires can smell me?” She winced slightly, having not thought of that until that very moment. Werewolves, she knew, had a keen sense of smell. Vampires, she’d read, could smell blood from a great distance away, but she was uncertain if they could smell other things, as well. She scolded herself for not checking in her family’s bestiary sooner. 

“I wouldn’t know.” Vanessa confessed with a small shrug. “I wouldn’t be too concerned. You’re prepared well enough should you catch their attention.” Allison nodded. She couldn’t argue that. She was better with her crossbow than her father was with his gun. Her childhood hadn’t exactly been a cake walk, either. All during those early years Allison’s parents had her training to become a hunter. At the age of eighteen she was able to take down even an alpha werewolf. Vampires were easy compared to that. Well, the ones Allison had come across were, at least.

“There was one here last night.” Allison said, forgetting that she was supposed to keep her being at the marketplace a night ago secret. She just about bit her tongue in frustration for letting the secret slip. “Please don’t tell my father. I was supposed to be in bed all of last night.” Her eyes had the appearance of a pleading puppy when she looked back to Vanessa. Vanessa chuckled quietly and nodded.

“Your secret is safe with me, Allison. It was smart of you. Coming out here, I mean. Perhaps not coming alone, but coming to get your bearings.” A smile spread across Allison’s face at the other woman’s response. It seemed that the two of them were on the same page.

Allison opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped herself upon seeing a woman with stark white hair curled up asleep to the side of the sewer tunnel. She lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Is that her? Is it Mina?” She took a few silent steps closer to the vampire, nudging her with her crossbow so that Vanessa could see her face clearly. Vanessa looked the vampire over and shook her head.

“No, it’s not.” Allison nodded. She wasn’t sure what to do. The vampire in question was just laying there, dead to the world. She knew her father would have instructed her to put the creature down, but he had gone ahead with Sembene and Sir Malcolm and wasn’t around to give orders. Before Allison could make up her mind one way or the other, though, the vampire’s eyes shot open. It was on its feet, snarling and bearing its teeth at the two women. Allison staggered backwards, pushing Vanessa back with her. The creature lunged at the two of them, but was stopped by a bolt fired from Allison’s crossbow. It had found its way right through the vampire’s heart. The body crumpled to the ground of the sewer, face down in a puddle of sewage water. Vanessa and Allison quickly caught their breath and continued down the sewer, guard up. If one was awake there was a good chance that the others would be following suit soon.

As they walked, Allison took care to reload her crossbow. If there was one thing her gun toting father and aunt had over her it was that they didn’t have to reload their weapons as often. 

They’d barely walked a yard in the muck when a pair of ghastly looking vampires ambushed them from the sides of the tunnel. Allison shot one of them in the heart easily enough, but the other was attacking her before she had the time to reload. In the struggle, Allison had to reach for that knife she always carried in her boot. She stabbed the vampire repeatedly in its neck, giving it wounds that only an immortal being could live through. Still, it kept going at her. Vanessa was unarmed, but shouted for the others to come quickly, not caring if she woke up a few of the undead monsters in the process. Right then the priority was to save Allison.

There was the sound of gunfire and the vampire collapsed midway through its assault on Allison. Ethan had taken the monster out with one deadly shot. Kate stood by his side with her gun raised, ready to fire should the need arise. The older Argent woman nudged Ethan with her elbow, just smiling at him without saying anything. It went unsaid that she was grateful to him for saving her niece’s neck, but he knew that she appreciated what he’d done.

“Nice try, sweetheart.” Kate smiled at Allison. “But maybe we’d better stick to bigger groups. This place is probably teeming with vampires.” Allison nodded, then looked to Vanessa to gesture for her to join Kate and Ethan. The four of them stuck close together, always watching for other vampires.

Allison went rigid when she heard shots being fired further down the tunnel. Kate put a hand on her niece’s shoulder to steady the girl. 

“It’s probably your father. He knows what he’s doing, kid. He can handle himself.” Allison nodded upon hearing the words. She trusted Kate and more than that she trusted Kate’s instincts. Her aunt was the best hunter she knew and that went beyond having good aim. Allison admired her aunt Kate in the same way that some little girls admired their mothers or older sisters. She wanted to emulate all of Kate’s strong qualities.

Soon enough there was more gunfire, many shots all fired close together, and Allison got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. This wasn’t like the butterflies she got when she was around Vanessa. It was like a brick had settled in her gut and it left her with an unmistakable feeling of dread. The group ahead of the four of them had to have been coming in contact with the majority of the vampires. It was the only reason for the gunfire that Allison could think of. She picked up her pace, jogging towards her father’s group, and the others began to hurry just to keep up with Allison.

Just as she’d suspected, as she got closer to her father she noticed one vampire corpse after another. Where Allison and those who followed her had killed just three vampires, her father, Sembene, and Sir Malcolm must have killed at least ten. Allison had to carefully step over the bodies. She imagined that this particular hunt must have seemed like a gigantic failure to Vanessa. None of these dead vampires were her friend. Allison frowned at the thought, then wondering just how close she and Mina had been before she’d been taken. She must have been very important to Vanessa to have inspired this hunt.

“Any luck on your end?” Christopher looked to Vanessa. She responded with a shake of her head.

“I’m afraid not. She doesn’t seem to be in this particular nest.” Allison could hear the disappointment in Vanessa’s voice. She wanted so badly to find Mina just so she could lift Vanessa’s spirits. Allison had doubts, of course, just like she imagined the rest of her family did. Sir Malcolm planned to cure his daughter when they found her, but nothing in the Argents’ bestiary indicated that a cure even existed. 

For a change, Allison caught Vanessa looking at her very intently. Something was wrong. Something that Allison couldn’t see.

“Allison,” Vanessa reached out and touched the younger girl’s jawline. It appeared that the vampire Ethan had shot had succeeded in hurting Allison in a minor way. There was a scratch the others had missed due to the poor lighting in the tunnel. When Vanessa touched the tiny scratch mark Allison flinched just a little, partly because it hurt and partly because the touch surprised her. “It must have scratched you.”

Christopher looked alarmed, stepping closer to his daughter to see the wound. “Are we sure it’s a scratch?” At the suggestion that it might have been something more than a scratch, Allison paled slightly. A bite from a vampire would mean that she would become one, as well. Somehow, though, she didn’t think that the vampire had been close enough to bite and their fingernails seemed to be razor sharp, so that was also a possibility.

“It doesn’t look like a bite.” Vanessa insisted. She knew judging by previous conversations she’d had with the Argents that hunters in their line wouldn’t give their own a chance to turn. The alternative, of course, being that they would end the bite victim’s life before it got that far.

“Uh, also?” Kate raised her hand and gestured to Ethan who had a deeper scratch on his collarbone, bleeding onto his shirt collar. “Allison isn’t the only one who’s suffered injury. I say we clean up these wounds back at the house.” Christopher nodded at the suggestion.

“It’s a good idea. We have everything we need to clean minor injuries at my house.” Christopher looked to each of the others and they each nodded in agreement. Allison was just relieved to be heading back early. The smell of the sewer was getting overwhelming.

One by one, the group climbed out of the sewer. Remarkably, none of them smelled _too_ badly, but the ladies’ dresses would definitely have to be laundered. It was just a good thing that no one was wandering the streets at this hour or there might have been questions raised. Normal people didn’t just climb in and out of the sewer at ungodly hours of the night.

The Argent household wasn’t far from that particular nest, so the walk was brief. No one said anything as they walked into the house, though the air was full of tension. Christopher had theorized, once, that a scratch from a werewolf could turn a person if it was deep enough. He wondered if the same happened to be true for vampires. If it was, he only hoped that the vampire who scratched his daughter hadn’t gone deep enough.

“What’s going on?” Victoria stood from her seat, looking the group over. She hadn’t been expecting guests and their sudden presence sounded warning bells to her. Something had gone wrong and she knew it.

“Just some minor injuries, ma’am.” Sir Malcolm gave one of his charming smiles to Victoria. His casual attitude comforted her a little bit, but she still watched them like a hawk. Kate disappeared to her room only to come back into the sitting room at a brisk pace. With her she carried a tin box. She set the box down on a table in the center of the room. Ethan reached towards it to open it, but Kate nudged him away.

“Allow me.” She smiled just a little bit and opened the box. Inside were cloth bandages, sterile alcohol, and instruments to stitch up wounds with. Kate pulled Ethan’s collar away from his wound and he flinched as the blood had started to form a scab that was torn open when the cloth was pulled away. It wasn’t such a deep wound, but it definitely required stitches. She splashed a little bit of the alcohol on his wound and Ethan winced a little bit. “Stings like a bitch, doesn’t it?” Kate smirked at him for a second, then expertly threading a needle. She set to work stitching his cut.

Once Kate was done with the alcohol, Allison picked the bottle up and splashed a little on one of the gauze bandages. She used the damp cloth to dab at her own scratch.

“It doesn’t need stitches, does it?” Her eyes darted from person to person, looking for responses from all of them. Christopher shook his head.

“It was deep enough to bleed, but not deep enough to warrant stitches. Keep it clean and you’ll be fine.” He smiled, still concerned about whether or not Allison would turn. He knew what he’d have to do if she became one of them.

“I’m going to look a little rough around the edges.” Allison scowled a little bit. She couldn’t help but wonder what other people might think of a scratched up young woman. She’d stick out like a sore thumb standing next to the flawless Dorian Gray.

“You’ll still look lovely, Allison.” Vanessa smiled gently, reaching out to touch her hand for a moment or two. Allison’s expression perked up slightly with that little statement, feeling a tiny bit better about her appearance. Her mother, though, simply just rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be vain, Allison. Keep your mind focused on the task at hand.” Victoria frowned. She wasn’t about to raise some delicate flower. Allison was a hunter and as long as Victoria was around she was going to _act_ like a hunter.

Sir Malcolm let a yawn slip out of his mouth and looked to the grandfather clock standing nearby. It read the time as being a little after three o’ clock in the morning. “I think that we’d all better be on our way. It’s quite late.” Ethan nodded in agreement as Kate finished up doing his stitches.

“I’m inclined to agree with Sir Malcolm. We won’t be able to do much searching if we run ourselves ragged.” He got to his feet, glancing appreciatively to Kate. “Thank you for the stitches, Miss Argent.” She tilted her head and pointed a finger at him.

“What did I tell you about formalities? _Kate._ Call me _Kate._ ” Ethan chuckled a little bit.

“Thank you for the stitches, _Kate._ ” Ethan corrected himself. Allison looked on, smiling at the two of them. It seemed that she wasn’t the only one forming romantic connections. Vanessa smiled, as well, and stood.

“We appreciate your hospitality.” She glanced from one Argent to the next. Victoria gave a polite smile and nodded in response.

“You’re our allies. You’re welcome here.” Allison nodded in agreement with her mother’s statement. Everyone was patched up and on their way home to crawl into their own beds. Sir Malcolm and his associates made their way to the front door and Allison walked closely behind them to see them out.

“Goodnight,” She smiled as each of them walked out, her eyes lingering on Vanessa long after she’d stepped out of their home. A few seconds later she closed the door, locking it. She made her way back into the sitting room. Christopher looked slightly less pleasant than he had a minute ago.

“Allison was scratched by one of the vampires.” He explained in a low voice to Victoria who had missed the whole event.

“It’s nothing, I’m sure.” Kate spoke up, putting a hand on Allison’s shoulder in hopes that it would help her not lose her cool. “Just a scratch. Vampires are all about the bite when it comes to turning.”

“We’ll see.” Victoria said, looking quite grim. Allison had never felt more unsure in her life. She wanted immediate answers, but so much about their line of work was pure speculation. Tonight, though, she would have to go to bed not knowing if she would last much longer. If the scratch proved an effective method of turning her, Allison was as good as dead.


	10. An Iron Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison becomes ill, seemingly from the scratch she suffered at the hands of a vampire. She faces the very real possibility that her parents might have to kill her.

It had been hours and the Argents were no closer to finding out if the scratch Allison had suffered would mean her transforming into the very kind of monster they were all hunting. However, it wasn’t looking good. Allison had taken a bath before she’d crawled into bed the night she suffered the injury. The ice cold water was meant to snap her out of the funk she seemed to be in, but it hadn’t worked. She’d donned her white nightgown, crawled into bed, and had remained there. It was noon the next day and she was still too lethargic to make much of anything out of the day. Her father was practically in mourning, anticipating that Allison’s eyes would go blood red and that fangs would replace her teeth. Her mother was less sad and more determined, watching her daughter like a hawk so that she would know if she had to put her down. Allison was somewhere in between the two states - Sad that her life might be ending, but recognizing that, if she was in transition, she had to end it.

Allison was laying in bed when she heard knocking at the door, clear as a bell. She sat up slowly and crawled out of bed, walking slowly to the bannister that overlooked the foyer. She wanted to know who had come calling. The Argents’ butler opened the door, revealing to Allison that their guest was none other than Dorian Gray. She smiled weakly at the sight of his face.

“Good afternoon.” He smiled, not seeing Allison watching him from above. “Is Miss Argent available?” 

The butler shook his head. “She is not well. She is--”

“Right here.” Allison began to descend the staircase, making her presence known before the butler could usher Dorian off. She knew that her parents wouldn’t want her to entertain visitors like this, but Allison thought she could use a little company. Maybe it would perk up her mood. Dorian looked a little surprised to see her still in her nightgown and he was slightly alarmed that she was so pale, but he smiled nonetheless. The marble of the foyer’s floor felt like ice on her bare feet and she was regretting even climbing out of bed. It was all seeming more and more like a bad idea, but when she looked at his smile she could practically feel herself warming up. She began to walk to the parlor and nodded for Dorian to join her.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but are you ill?” He watched her curiously as she took a seat on a sofa. Dorian took a seat on a nearby chair.

“In a manner of speaking.” Allison frowned, blinking back the beginnings of tears. “Others might call it a transition.”

“What are you transitioning into?” He studied her carefully. He had never seen her like this before. Reaching out, he took one of her hands in his own. Whatever was going on obviously bothered her a great deal and he only meant to provide some sort of comfort.

Allison tugged at the neck of her nightgown to reveal the scratch she’d suffered the night before. In spite of her keeping it clean, it was red around the edges like it was getting infected. “I got this last night taking care of a nest of vampires. One of them scratched me.”

Dorian suddenly looked more concerned. “And what does that mean? That you’re becoming a vampire?” Allison couldn’t blink back the tears any longer. She felt a couple big ones rolling down her cheeks. She dashed them away with the back of her hand.

“We don’t know. Scratches from a werewolf can mean a complete transition into a werewolf. Vampires... We know less about them.” Dorian couldn’t help but notice that when Allison spoke she sounded a little hoarser than what she usually sounded like. He wasn’t sure if he should attribute that to the change she was apparently going through or something else altogether.

“What exactly _do_ you know about them? What makes a vampire a vampire?” He leaned in, listening curiously. He still had trouble believing that such creatures existed. It felt as if he’d had blinders on for a very long time and that Allison had taken those blinders away. 

“They’re immortal. They don’t age. Their diet consists of blood, usually human. They’re strong and fast and vicious.” Allison spoke in a monotone voice, her eyes averting from his.

“Do their instincts always take over? The instinct to attack and to feed? Or can such a thing be fought off with enough effort?” Dorian ducked his head slightly, trying to find her eyes with his once again.

Allison looked a little confused. “I don’t know. We’ve never... I mean, we’ve never studied them while they were alive. We only know how to fight and kill them. We’ve never asked them any questions on the topic. Why do you ask?” 

“If instincts can be fought and subsequently defeated, I don’t see what’s so terrible about becoming a vampire. To live forever... Isn’t that what every man wants?” The ghost of a smile formed on his face. He was pleased with the idea, but it still horrified Allison.

“I would be a monster, Dorian.” Her voice was nearly a whisper, now. To become a vampire would go against everything she’d been taught at that point. 

“A monster,” Dorian echoed her. “I think that’s subjective. Who’s to say what’s a monster and what’s a man?”

“I’d say that a thing that lives off of blood, unable to walk in the sunlight is less man and more monster.” Allison said, stubbornly. Why couldn’t he see why she was so upset? He’d seen one of those vampires up close and he still didn’t understand that they were savage beasts that needed to be put down? She wondered if he had a reason to be so defensive of them.

“All I’m saying is that your life won’t be over should you become a vampire. You have an iron will. You can overcome anything, savage instincts included.” He gave a small smile and Allison found herself smiling back. It was nice that he believed in her so much. She wondered if he’d still feel the same about her once the transformation was through. Allison wouldn’t be the same girl if she became a vampire. An iron will wouldn’t stop the physical changes. She wondered if her hair would go stark white like the ones she’d seen. 

“My parents wouldn’t give me a chance to overcome anything.” She sighed sadly. Dorian got up from his seat to sit down right next to Allison on the sofa. He looked at her, clearly concerned.

“They would kill you?” He asked in a quiet voice. Allison nodded, wiping at her eyes to get rid of the tears before they could roll down her cheeks. Dorian took her hand in his and held it. “Come with me, then. They won’t be able to lay a finger on you.”

Allison laughed humorlessly and shook her head. “No. It’s my responsibility as a hunter to end my life before I turn into something that could hurt people.” 

Dorian nodded solemnly, still not letting go of Allison’s hand. “Then you simply won’t turn. It’s not a certain thing right now and, if it does happen, we’ll find a way to reverse it.” Allison sighed, giving his hand a squeeze. She wanted so badly to believe him in all that he said, but he hadn’t been raised around hunters. He didn’t know how black and white things were with them. Either you were a human being or you were a monster. One got to live and the other was doomed to die.

Allison was so lost in that moment with Dorian by her side that when a knock at the door sounded she jumped slightly. She wrinkled her eyebrows and looked over the back of the couch towards the door. The Argents’ butler answered the door again. Allison couldn’t get a good look at the man, but she heard his voice.

“Good afternoon. I’m looking for a Miss Allison Argent?” Without asking questions, the butler led the man inside and straight to the parlor where Allison sat with Dorian. The man was tall and thin, with skin that was paler than most people’s. He gave her a tentative smile and she wondered if he was timid or simply bad with people. “You must be Allison. I’m Victor Frankenstein, a friend of Sir Malcolm Murray’s. Your parents expressed concern with your health and I thought a complete physical examination might shed some light on the nature of what’s afflicting you.”

Allison nodded. An exam certainly couldn’t hurt things. “I’d prefer it to be done in private.” She insisted quietly. Victor nodded.

“Perhaps in your bedroom, then?” She nodded in response to his suggestion. Without prompting from him, Allison got up from her seat, letting go of Dorian’s hand.

“I’ll be back soon enough.” Allison smiled weakly at Dorian, then turning to the staircase she led Victor up to her room. She held the door open for him as he walked in and left it open. Once Allison had left the room and gone up to her own bedroom, a worried looking Kate entered the parlor. She took a seat in a chair close to the sofa.

“You’re Dorian Gray.” She gave a halfhearted smile. “I’ve heard about you.” Dorian looked disinterested in Kate, being more concerned about what was going on upstairs.

“It always seems that my reputation precedes me.” He let out a chuckle and shook his head, his eyes finding their way back to the staircase once again. How long would the physical exam last, he wondered.

“You make her happy.” Kate said, nodding up the stairs to indicate Allison. “As long as you make her happy you’ll be a friend of this family. The moment that changes, things will be very different.” Though her tone wasn’t threatening, her words implied something else. It was Kate’s way of saying _If you break her heart, you’re doomed._ Dorian, however, ignored the warning. He was too concerned for Allison’s fate. 

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” He looked back to Kate. Kate let out a long sigh.

“I hope so. She told you about us?” She raised her eyebrows slightly. When Dorian and Allison had been talking about vampires, Kate had heard a good portion of their conversation. 

“She explained herself after she saved me from one of those things.” The statement brought a smirk to his face. If only she’d known that he didn’t need saving. Kate nodded, though, understanding Allison’s motives.

“Well, we don’t know a whole lot about _those things._ Before we’d moved to London we’d only ever read about them in our family’s bestiary and there wasn’t even much in there. We suspect that they turn others by way of bite, but we can’t be sure.” Kate cleared her throat. “But with the way Allison looks right now... Well, if there’s something off the doctor will let us know.” She gave a weak, completely superficial smile. Dorian didn’t look any happier.

“It’s possible that we might be losing her.” He said in a quiet voice. Though he didn’t say anything, he blamed the other Argents for Allison’s state of mind. How horrible it must have been to be raised the way she had been. To be given that kind of responsibility? And she was still so young. _Too_ young to believe that it was her duty to end her life should she become anything more than human and definitely too young to actually end it.

“A lot of things are possible. It doesn’t mean they’re true.” Kate’s face had become significantly more serious. The longer the doctor spent with her niece the more worried she became. Finally, though, both Victor and Allison emerged from the bedroom. She looked just as pale and weak as she had been before, but it was like an invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“What’s the word?” Kate smiled politely at Victor, sitting up a little straighter as he walked into the parlor with Allison falling closely behind him.

“I believe what has you all so alarmed is a mere cold. That’s what her symptoms suggest, at least.” Victor sighed. “I’ve taken some blood and once I get home I’ll examine it more closely. I plan on comparing it to samples I’ve gathered in the field from those individuals Sir Malcolm is so interested in. However, I don’t think it’s anything mysterious that is afflicting Miss Argent. I believe it is a cold being aggravated by psychosomatic elements. She had it in her head that it was because of that scratch that she was ill. She was so utterly convinced that her symptoms developed around it.”

“A cold.” Dorian laughed a little, clearly feeling less morose. The Argents wouldn’t kill Allison because of a _cold._ Though the doctor still had yet to take a look at Allison’s blood sample, everyone in the room seemed relieved.

“I’ll be leaving, now.. I’ll be sure to tell you what I find in your blood if I find anything at all. I must be on my way. I have prior engagements to attend to.” Victor gave that same uneasy smile and the butler escorted him out of the house. The mood in the parlor had been lifted a great deal. Dorian rose to his feet and Allison rushed over to him. She was so relieved that she threw her arms around him without much thought. For a second he was dumbfounded by the sudden and unexpected gesture, but soon he embraced her almost as enthusiastically. The two of them laughed. Their previous discussion about becoming a monster seemed so silly now.

“We should celebrate.” He insisted with a smile on his face. Allison’s smile faded slightly.

“I can’t. The doctor told me that I need to rest.” She bit at her lower lip a little bit. “Another time?”

“Absolutely. Go. Rest.” Dorian took her hand, leading her to the base of the staircase one room away. “When you’re feeling much better we’ll go out. Perhaps to the theater!” Allison smiled at the suggestion.

“I’ve never been to the theater before.” She confessed, feeling a little bit of warmth rush to her formerly pale cheeks.

“Then the theater it will be.” He nodded. “Whenever you’re ready for it.” 

Allison smiled and nodded. “Good day, Dorian.” She gave him another hug and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “And thank you. Thank you _so_ much.” He’d been what had sounded like the voice of reason when she still thought that she was turning. She appreciated it more than she knew how to say. He pulled away slowly, nodding in response to her expression of gratitude, and smiled.

“Good day, Allison.” He took her hand and kissed it gently right on her wrist. With that, he turned and made his exit, leaving Allison standing there, hopelessly lovestruck.

“Alright, girl,” Kate grinned at her niece. “It’s time you got back to bed. Doctor’s orders, remember?” She took Allison by the hand and led her up the stairs. Had this been the end of the story, it would have been a happy one.


	11. The Blurry Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate goes out for a drink and winds up discussing business and other things with Ethan Chandler.

Kate Argent had a weary kind of look about her. Like the other members of her family, she’d been on pins and needles waiting to hear what was about to happen to her niece Allison. The scratch that they had all believed would turn Allison into a vampire was just a simple scratch with no real influence at all. Now that Victor Frankenstein had given Allison a relatively clean bill of health, Kate wasn’t about to spend one more minute cooped up in the Argents’ lavish London home. She needed to _roam._

She’d walked the streets for at least an hour when she finally decided to celebrate and she wasn’t about to celebrate alone. What other place would she go other than the inn where Ethan was staying? He made for a good drinking partner and, as Allison had observed on more than one occasion, there seemed to be a great deal of chemistry between Kate and Ethan. It had been a long time since Kate was last with a man and she was starting to miss it. 

As predicted, Ethan was sitting at the bar a quarter finished with a bottle of whiskey. Kate mentally applauded her timing and took a seat next to him. He must have been tired, too. It took him a second to realize who was sitting next to him. She just looked at him with a winning smile on her face.

“Hey, handsome. Need some help finishing that?” Kate nodded to the whiskey. Ethan cracked a smile, reaching for a glass across the bar and sliding it to her. She took it from there, pouring herself a generous portion and taking a big drink right away.

“How’s your niece?” Ethan turned slightly on the stool so he could face Kate. She smiled a little.

“Word gets around, huh?” She sighed and drummed her fingers.

“Your brother asked Sir Malcolm for help. The doctor who was going to examine Allison is a friend of mine. Everything turn out okay?” When Ethan looked at Kate there was genuine concern in his eyes. Part of it was concern about how his own scratch would affect him, but mostly he was worried about the young girl. The Argents were a strange family with strange ideals and rules. He didn’t say it out loud because he didn’t want to offend Kate, but he worried about how the hunter lifestyle would affect them in the long run.

“She’s still human and she has a nasty cold.” Kate gave a facial shrug, finishing off her whiskey and pouring herself another glass. She was infinitely more relieved than she showed. Like Chris and Victoria, Kate held the same belief that hunters who lose their humanity should end their lives before something disastrous happened, but Kate really hadn’t wanted to see her niece die. Her life had hardly begun. Now she didn’t have to worry about her niece dying prematurely.

“That’s good to hear.” Ethan clinked his glass against Kate’s and took a long drink. 

“How is your scratch healing?” Kate looked at him curiously, reaching over to pull his shirt collar down just slightly. She nodded, impressed at the fact that it had already started to heal a great deal. “Not bad. Sorry I wasn’t watching your back that great that night in the sewer. I was too busy watching out for the leeches.” She winced. “I swear, I hate those things so damn much. It’s actually kind of cathartic getting to kill them like we do.”

Ethan frowned just slightly, eyes focused on the bar in front of him. Kate looked confused with his reaction to her statement. “Why the face?”

“Have you ever wondered about the line that divides them from us? Ever wonder how blurry that line might be? I don’t know how I feel about killing something that used to be a human being.” His head tilted down slightly, purposefully avoiding Kate’s eyes because he knew what her attitude on the topic was.

“The line might be blurry, but it’s _there._ If a human being was out attacking and killing other human beings I wouldn’t have any trouble putting _them_ down, either. You sure are a walking contradiction, Ethan. I never see you having any trouble pulling that trigger, but then you come here to drown your woes and all you talk about is feeling low about killing those monsters. And they _are_ monsters.” She quickly downed her glass, making no move to refill it. Ethan sighed. He knew that she had a point. Kate was vicious. He liked her, but she was hardened and fierce. Or was it because she was hardened and fierce that he liked her? He didn’t know and his mind was too blurry to make sense of his emotions for her.

“Yeah,” He mumbled. “I’m not as used to it as you are.” A sigh escaped his lips. “Just how long have you been doing this, Kate?”

Kate appreciated the change in topic. She didn’t come to the inn to argue about how moral their quest may have been. She finally caved and poured herself another drink. “My dad started training me when I turned twelve. I’ve been watching him and my older brother hunt since I was about ten. Their philosophy is that it’s good to start hunting at a formative age. It makes it easier on you and you ask fewer questions as an adult. Questions just make and already messy business even messier.”

“It really is messy business.” Ethan looked back up from the bar, connecting his gaze with hers. “But...” He chuckled humorlessly. “It _does_ pay well. Sir Malcolm’s been putting me up here ever since we started working together. I guess it helps if your boss happens to be wealthy.”

Kate laughed at that and nodded. “The Argents are old money, so we never have any trouble with that. We still do regular business, though. Our cover for hunting is that we sell weapons.”

“Yeah, that much was pretty obvious given the palace you all live in.” Ethan grinned at her. He wasn’t overly impressed with wealth. He’d grown up comfortably enough. Like most people, he was able to appreciate what you could get with enough money, but he wasn’t starry eyed in Kate’s presence. Not because she was old money, at least. 

“Our home in America was nicer.” Kate shrugged her shoulders. “We had to settle for something a little smaller when we moved here. I’m not complaining. All I need is a warm bed and a gun and I’m happy.”

“Why don’t you lead a simpler life, then?” He wrinkled his eyebrows slightly as he looked to her for an answer.

“Believe me, I would if I could. It’s got a lot to deal with my duties as an Argent. We’re aristocrats. We don’t shy away from wealth just because it’s complicated and excessive. It’s just how I was raised.” She slouched slightly on the bar stool, taking another drink. “And just another thing I’m not supposed to question.”

“Call me crazy, but you don’t seem like the kind of woman who does something just because it’s what she’s instructed to do.” He smiled at her playfully and she smiled back.

“Because I’m not. I do this because it’s my passion. I believe in it, more than anything in the world, and I’m going to keep doing it so long as I believe in it.” She paused for a second. “Why are you involved in all of this, Ethan?”

“You know, I still don’t have a good answer for that. I guess it’s at least part because of the money.” His smile faded. He’d never liked to think of himself as someone who could be bought at the right price, and yet there he was. Doing things he considered questionable for a generous salary.

Kate shook her head. “Seems like we opened a can of worms with this talk about work. What do you say we forget about it?”

“And how do you suggest we forget about it?” He smiled faintly, hopeful that she’d have an answer. There was nothing that he would have liked more than to forget about the morally questionable things he had done.

A big grin spread across Kate’s face. “You have a room here, don’t you?” Ethan chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah, it just so happens I _do_ have a room here.” He shook his head, disbelieving that someone of Kate’s social standing would suggest a roll in the metaphorical hay. 

“Well, don’t just sit there. Give me the full tour.” Kate chuckled and nudged him with her elbow. The two of them stood up from their stools and Ethan looked back at her as they walked to the staircase.

“Gotta warn you, though. It’s a little messy.” Kate just laughed.

“It’s not like your having me over for high tea, Ethan. I don’t mind a little mess.” She gave his butt a playful smack as he climbed the stairs in front of her. The two of them were smiling as they disappeared into the cluttered room Ethan now called home.


	12. Tongue-Lashing and Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate returns home from a night out with Ethan the next morning only to be scolded by her brother. She and Allison talk honestly about the men in their lives.

Just as Kate had expected, when she came home from having spent the night at the inn with Ethan Christopher was standing right there, arms folded stubbornly across his chest. Kate let out a chuckle and closed the door behind her.

“Alright, lemme hear the inevitable lecture about decency. Give me your worst, Chris.” A big grin spread across Kate’s face and Christopher knew that there would be no getting through to her. That wouldn’t stop him from trying, though.

“I know you’re aware of the fact that this family must remain in good social standing, Kate. Why is it that wherever we go you seem to want to undermine that?” He gritted his teeth together. Chris was extremely angry, but he kept his cool pretty well in talking to Kate. It was a skill he’d honed over many years, just as Kate had perfected her ability to stir up anger inside of her brother. 

“First of all, spending the night with one of our associates isn’t going to bring about the end of the world. _Second of all--_ ” Kate was promptly cut off.

“One of our associates?? Do you have any idea how bad that is for our business?” Chris raised his voice, trying his best to reign in his anger, but it was getting harder and harder with every smirk Kate shot his way.

“What?” Kate wrinkled her eyebrows, a look on her face like Christopher had just uttered something in a foreign language. “Seriously? If anything it’ll make Ethan more determined to protect me. I’d say that’s very _good_ for our business. That is unless you want to see one of those white-haired bitches tear my throat out with their teeth.” She raised her eyebrows, challenging her brother to disagree with her. He let out a sigh, looking almost defeated for a moment, but he wasn’t about to give in so easily.

“Kate, you will not be out at all hours of the night, cavorting with men we barely know. I forbid it.” Kate let out a loud, disrespectful laugh at that.

“You _forbid it._ Chris, you’re not my father. You’re not my husband, either. You have no power over me. So until I do something that’s _actually_ deserving of one of your rants, I suggest you back off and focus _all_ of that energy on hunting down leeches.” Kate shot him a look and stormed out of the room, purposely bumping shoulders with him. As it usually was, Kate had the last word and Christopher was left to stew. There was no way their father could have made the voyage to Europe with his weak heart, but sometimes Christopher desperately missed him. He was cold and unfeeling, but he would have had a better handle on Kate than Christopher did. As much as he hated to admit it, though, Kate was right about one thing. Getting closer to Ethan would make him more likely to help them and protect Kate, not that she ever needed a man’s protection.

On the second story of the house, Allison was leaning close to her barely open bedroom door listening to all of it. She rarely raised her voice to her father and admired Kate’s gutsiness for doing so as often as she did. While Allison was usually pretty confident in herself, she always found herself wishing that she was as daring as her aunt. When she heard Kate’s footsteps getting closer to her room, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway, smiling at her aunt like she was proud of her.

“You were with Ethan?” She asked in a low voice. Kate grinned at her niece’s curiosity.

“I was. It was amazing.” Kate nodded for Allison to follow her to her bedroom. Allison tiptoed as if her father would kill her for sneaking off to talk about men with her aunt. The two of them entered the room and Kate closed the door behind them. “For such a rough guy he was pretty tender. You know, gentle.” 

Allison felt her cheeks flush, talking about a thing as scandalous as sex. She was no shrinking violet, but her morals were pretty much in line with that of every victorian woman. Somehow, though, that made it even more exciting.

“He doesn’t seem like the type.” She commented, making Kate chuckle a little.

“Sometimes, Allison, you need to look below the surface to see what a guy is really about. Dorian, for example, is extremely polite and genteel, but I think he’s a little more complicated than that. I think he’s into something darker.”

Now Allison was blushing fiercely. It wasn’t because of what Kate was saying, but because she’d wondered a lot about how Dorian was in private. He was bold enough to kiss her the night she’d saved his life, but his manners were perfect. Like Kate had said, Allison had decided that he was complicated. She’d also decided that she liked _complicated._ It was what attracted to her to Dorian and also what attracted her to Vanessa Ives. Most people would have firstly been attracted to either of them for their beauty, but not Allison. She appreciated good looks like anyone else, but she wasn’t completely vain.

“Darker?” Allison raised her eyebrows, echoing her aunt. Kate chuckled and looked down.

“Nevermind. You’re about as red in the face as a tomato, Allison. I’ll tell you when I think you’re ready.” Allison wanted to argue that if she could kill monsters as easily as she could then she was more than ready for a conversation about sex, but with a little thought she found that she agreed with her aunt. For as close as she’d been to Scott McCall in America, they had never been lovers. They had kissed and caressed and embraced, but they’d never done anything that required the removal of clothing. Allison, as hardened as she was from years of hunting creatures, was still a virgin and she still had the mindset of a virgin when it came to sex.

“Do you think you two will marry?” Allison asked, a tiny, curious smile on her lips. Kate let out a quiet laugh.

“Not everyone is the marrying kind, Allison.” Kate said, putting her hand on her niece’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. Allison wasn’t certain whether Kate meant that _Ethan_ wasn’t the marrying kind or if _Kate_ wasn’t the marrying kind. She supposed that it could have been both of them. Allison had observed Ethan and Kate a lot over the past few weeks. They both had similar energies. Both fiercely independent individuals who didn’t seem as comfortable in a group situation. Ethan seemed more comfortable accepting help than Kate ever had, but that wasn’t exactly saying a whole lot considering Kate’s nature.

“Mother asks me sometimes if I want to die an old maid.” Allison let out a humorless laugh. It was all because Victoria had never approved of the boys Allison admired. She only hoped that when she finally met Dorian that she would finally accept him as being worthy of Allison’s affection. “I don’t think women need to be married to be happy.”

Kate nodded in approval of the statement. “That’s a very good way to think. If your happiness depends on some guy then you’re not truly happy. You have to put yourself first.” Allison let out another laugh, this time because she thought something funny.

“Actually, mother has said that to me, too.” She shook her head. “Sometimes she gets a little confusing.” Kate grinned and wrapped an arm around Allison, hugging her close. 

“Sometimes, kid, I think we’re more like friends than family. No matter what anyone tells you, being friends holds more weight than being family. _The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb._ ” Allison smiled a little bit.

“I think I agree.” She nodded. Kate grinned at her.

“Well, that’s good. Because I’m right. Or I’m at least right about this one particular thing.” Allison smiled at that. She was very competent when it came to battle, but she still wished she had as much faith in herself as Kate had in _her_ self. 

“I should be getting ready.” Allison rose to her feet, turning to smile at Kate. “I’m going to the theater tonight with Dorian.”

“Ooooh.” Kate said teasingly, giving her niece a gentle punch in the shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be a wonderful time. He’s a pretty good guy.” 

While Kate’s approval wasn’t Victoria’s approval, Allison was still satisfied knowing that someone else thought that Dorian was alright. She gave one last smile to her aunt and then turned, walking back to her room to get everything in order for her tryst.


	13. A Night At The Theater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dorian takes Allison to the theater and there they run into Vanessa.

It was a full house at the Grand Guignol theater and Dorian had landed Allison and himself balcony seating. As she had told him days ago, this was her first trip ever to the theater. When she’d lived in America her family rarely indulged in things like this. Most of her waking hours were spent either training or hunting. Even taking a life had become mundane, but this was exciting and new and those feelings showed on her face. She couldn’t stop smiling.

“It’s beautiful here.” She said, her eyes roaming the theater. The architecture was amazing and the velour seats were so touchably soft. Dorian couldn’t help but smile at the reaction the place was getting from her. It amazed him how she could kill so easily and still maintain her apparent innocence. She was a paradox he was determined to figure out.

“I agree. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the production, as well. They use cutting edge special effects here. It’s always worth the fee you pay to get in.” His hand found hers and he brushed his thumb over the back of her milk white hand. Allison smiled when she felt his touch and turned her attention to him. She gave his hand a squeeze and looked into his eyes for a second or two. He’d taken her by surprise that night when he’d seen her kill that vampire. Allison had expected him to take off running, but he stuck around. More than that, seeing her like that had seemed to draw him in. She could imagine getting a little more serious with a man who could handle her family trade.

As if on cue, Allison’s gaze drifted from Dorian to the opposite side of the balcony seating. Taking her seat, there was Vanessa Ives. Allison felt her jaw drop slightly as she looked at the other woman. Vanessa moved with impossible grace, like every step she took was a dance step, and her beauty was overwhelming. It took Allison a few seconds to realize that she was staring at her. She turned to Dorian looking almost apologetic.

“There she is.” He was watching her, too. He turned back to Allison with an understanding smile. “It’s hard not to stare, isn’t it? She has a way of drawing people in without even trying.” 

Allison wasn’t sure if Dorian’s appreciation for Vanessa was a relief or a blow to her ego. Part of her felt like she should have been able to hold his attention for the night even if Vanessa was in the same room as the two of them. Another part was glad to have someone who knew what it was like to look at the mysterious beauty and be absolutely enraptured. It was more than a little confusing.

She was snapped out of her haze of thoughts when the stage lights made a crackling noise and lit up, the house lights dimming. Allison let out a barely audible gasp and fixed her eyes on the stage. She was glad to have an excuse to not discuss her infatuation with Vanessa Ives. 

The show, as promised, was amazing. Somehow they’d rigged a device to spurt blood when the leading lady was attacked by a beast. It was nothing at all like the real thing, Allison noted, but it was still entertaining. When the cast took their final bow and everything was over and done with, the crowd began to leave the theater. Allison and Dorian stood, ready to make their own exit, and Allison once again found herself looking across the way. This time, though, Vanessa was not there. Allison felt a slight twinge of disappointment, but didn’t voice her emotions. As she and Dorian made their way out of the building, Allison perked up at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Allison! Mister Gray! How nice it is to see both of you.” Vanessa smiled and walked over to the two of them, the trio congregating in front of the theater’s marquis. Allison’s face seemed to light up. Seeing _her_ reaction, Dorian smiled as well.

“It’s Allison’s first time at the theater. It seems we all had the same idea tonight.” Dorian took Allison by the hand as if to claim her. He knew that there was little chance he would lose her, but he did it anyway.

“It seems you’re right. Did you enjoy your first theatrical production?” Vanessa turned her head to look at Allison. Allison felt her cheeks warm slightly and hoped that they weren’t flushing rose noticeably.

“I did, as a matter of fact.” She purposely left out how the effects had left her wanting more. To see someone bleeding realistically or to see a man transforming into a monster without makeup or effects. She supposed that it was just the way she lived her life that was creeping up and showing its effects in strange ways. 

“Well,” Vanessa sighed with a smile. “I ought to be heading home, now. Goodnight to both of you.” She was about to part ways with the couple when Dorian spoke up.

“Oh, that won’t do. Come with us. We’ll relax, enjoy a little conversation.” Spending a little more time with Vanessa appealed to Allison, so she found herself giving a pleading sort of look to the older woman. Vanessa let out a quiet laugh and nodded.

“Alright. Lead the way, Mister Gray.” Both Dorian and Allison seemed satisfied with Vanessa’s response and the two of them linked arms. They walked quietly back to Dorian’s home. 

The Argents’ home was slightly larger than Dorian’s, but Allison was still impressed by his home’s size and the decor within. She looked around with slightly widened eyes as Dorian led the two women to a ballroom with walls covered with portraits. The pictures hung in beautiful frames, all of those eyes looking down on the three of them. It was lovely and unsettling all at once.

“Wait here. I have just the thing.” Dorian smiled mischievously like he had some sort of plan he was about to let the others in on. He turned and walked to some sort of cabinet. First he set out three small glasses and then he set out a bottle of green liquid. Allison assumed it was some kind of liquor she had never seen before. Aside from champagne and the occasional brandy Allison barely drank alcohol at all. In all honesty, she didn’t like the effects it had on her. She much preferred her senses to be sharp. Being an Argent, she had to be prepared for a fight at any given moment.

“What is it?” Allison asked him, her eyes fixed on the mysterious green drink being poured. Dorian looked up after he’d poured the third glass and smiled.

“Absinthe. You should absolutely try it at least once.” He answered, handing one glass to Vanessa and another to Allison. Allison lifted the glass to her nose like one might do with a glass of wine and sniffed at it. It smelled a lot like anise and since her mother made anise pizzelles the scent piqued her interest in a good way. She watched as the two older individuals lifted their glasses to their lips and took sips of the liquid. Allison soon followed suit and took a tiny sip. It tasted a lot like licorice with hints of mint, to her. She liked it and quickly took another sip with a smile on her face.

“Well, what do you think?” Dorian asked, a smile on his face, as well. It was his personal mission to see that Allison experienced all of her firsts in his presence. After all, she was responsible for showing him his first vampire. It was just payback.

“It’s nice. Kind of... Potent?” Vanessa smiled at the younger girl’s reaction.

“I don’t get to have absinthe very often.” She took another sip and set her glass aside. “It’s very kind of you to share with us, Mister Gray.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble. What’s a drink among friends?” Dorian finished off the small amount of absinthe that he’d poured for himself and set the glass aside. “What do you say to a little music?” He smiled and got to his feet, going to select something for the three of them to listen to.

“I think I feel a little...” Allison trailed off, her eyebrows wrinkled together as she tried to find the right word. She didn’t feel _drunk_. It was something less intense.

“Tipsy?” Vanessa suggested with a small smile. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have drunk yours so quickly.” 

Allison smiled sheepishly, glancing to her now empty glass. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have!” She laughed quietly. After a moment she got to her feet and took a closer look at one of the portraits. Vanessa decided to follow her, looking at the same portrait.

“It’s quite strange to have so many eyes looking down on you.” Vanessa commented with a tiny smirk playing on her lips. Allison simply nodded, reaching out to feel the texture of oil paint on canvas. Some music she’d never heard before began to play. An opera. It sounded beautiful. Dorian walked over to join the two of them. Allison looked at him over her shoulder and smiled.

“We’re admiring the artwork in your home.” She turned to look back at the portrait she’d been touching, but her gaze settled on Vanessa. It was easy to stare at her. Her face was as beautiful as the melodies playing for them on the phonograph. Just when Allison was prepared to look away, Vanessa turned and caught her in the act. Allison smiled shyly, but couldn’t quite manage to look away. Instead, as if she’d had some sudden surge of courage, she leaned in close to the older woman and kissed her softly on the lips. It took a moment for the unexpected turn of events to register in Vanessa’s mind, but seconds later she pulled away, looking down awkwardly.

“It’s getting late.” Vanessa sighed. “I suppose I’ll see you, Allison, tomorrow night. We’ll be doing more... Exploring.” It was her way of phrasing ‘hunting’ in a way that Dorian wouldn’t understand. She had no idea that Dorian was aware of the vampire problem plaguing London.

“Right.” Allison’s voice was tiny and sad, but she forced a smile as Vanessa made her exit.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Mister Gray.” Vanessa called out over her shoulder and then she was gone. 

Allison didn’t bother to make her way back over to a chair. Instead she slumped to the floor, her back against a wall. She was so incredibly embarrassed and sad, but she didn’t even realize it when she began to cry from the waves of intense emotion. Dorian frowned, taking a seat on the floor next to her.

“That took quite a bit of courage.” He smiled at her, offering his pocket square to her for her tears. She took it and dabbed at her face, the tears subsiding for the moment.

“What good is courage if all it gets you is rejection?” Allison sighed sadly, handing him back a slightly damp square of silk. Dorian took it back, folding it and tucking it in his pocket with the intention of having it laundered it at a later time.

“What good would the wonderful things in life be if we only ever experienced wonderful things? Without the bad things - rejection, sadness - would we be able to appreciate the good?” He looked at her, hoping that it would help her mood even just a little bit, but Allison still looked sad as ever. With a sigh of his own, he threw caution to the wind. He tilted her head towards him with his hand and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. It caught her off guard, but she kissed back with more neediness than she’d ever shown him before. Now it was his turn to be caught off guard. When the kiss tapered off toward an end, Allison pulled back to just look at him and study his face. 

“Can we forget the bad things? Just for tonight?” She asked in a quiet voice. Dorian took a moment, but eventually nodded.

“Just for tonight.” He echoed her. Dorian rose to his feet, then offering a hand to help Allison stand, as well. She took it and pulled herself up into a standing position, but even once she’d gotten to her feet she kept a hold on his hand. Her thumb brushed over the back of his hand and she smiled at him. Allison kept his hand in hers as she led him out of the ballroom, that beautiful opera still echoing throughout his home. She made her way to the long and winding staircase and looked back at him. No words escaped her mouth, but he could tell what she was looking for. He stepped in front of her to lead her to his bedroom.


End file.
